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DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

MADE 

PLAIN AND ATTRACTIVE 



BY 

REV. N. B. COOKSEY 

Author of " Christian Science Under the Searchlight,* 

"Russellism Under the Searchlight," "Helps to 

Happiness,'* and " Bible Talk Outlines.** 



Price, Cloth Binding, 50 Cents. 



^ 



PUBLISHED BY 

COOKSEY PUBLISHING COMPANY 

OLNEY, ILLINOIS. 



^^-^, 






Copyrighted, 1916, by N. B. Cooksey 



S"EP.'-8"fi9l6 

©CI,A4;58295 



Alphabetical Index 



Page 

Adoption, Divine 50 

Advent, Second 97 

Apostasy 91 

Atonement of Christ .... 14 

Attraction of Cross 16 

Baptism, Christian 60 

Baptism of Spirit 63 

Benevolence, Christian . . 87 

Christ, Divinity of 13 

Christ, Atonement of . . . 14 
Christian Baptism ...... 60 

Christian Benevolence . t 87 
Christian Testimony .... 75 

Christian Perfection .... 82 

Christian Vows 36 

Christian Unity 86 

Christianity and Temper- 



Church Membership .... 57 

Confession of Sin ....... 38 

Consecration to God .... 43 

Conscience, Good 26 

Conversion 54 

Conviction of Sin 33 

Cross, Attraction of 16 

Death, State After 95 

Doctrine, Sound 5 

Divine Worship 23 

Divine Obedience 70 

Divine Providence 72 

Divine Adoption 50 

Divinity of Christ 13 



Page 

Early Piety 29 

Forgiving Others 41 

Forsaking Sin 39 

Foreordination 21 

Freedom of Will 18 

Friendship of Jesus 24 

Future Punishment 102 

Future Reward 104 

General Judgment 101 

Good Works 73 

Good Conscience 26 

Grace, Growth in 80 

Growth in Grace 80 

Heaven a Place 105 

Holiness, Christian 82 

Immortality of Souls. ... 92 
Inspiration of Scripture . 7 

Jesus, Friendship of 24 

Justification 49 

Judgment, The 101 

Lord's Supper 66 

Membership, Church ... 57 

New Birth 54 

Obedience, Divine 70 

Pardon of Sin 49 

Perfection, Christian .... 82 
Personality of Satan .... 11 
Perseverance of Saints . . 90 

Piety, Early 29 

Prayer, Effectual 46 

Prayer, Secret 69 

Predestination 21 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



Page 

Providence, Divine 72 

Punishment, Future .... 102 

Regeneration 54 

Repentance 34 

Restitution 42 

Resurrection of Dead ... 95 

Sabbath Observance .... 89 

Sacrament 66 

Saints, Perseverance of . . 90 

Satan, Personality of . . . . 11 

Scripture, Inspiration of. 7 

Scripture, Searching .... 9 

Second Advent 97 

Secret Prayer 69 

Sound Doctrine 5 

Souls, Immortality 92 

Soul-Winning 77 



Page 

Spiritual Baptism 63 

Spirit, Witness of 51 

Sin, Conviction of 33 

Sin, Repentance for 34 

Sin, Confession of 38 

Sin, Forsaking 39 

Sin, Pardon of 49 

Testimony, Christian .... 75 

Temperance 88 

Unity, Christian 86 

Vows, Christian 36 

Will, Freedom of 18 

Winning Souls 77 

Witness of Spirit 51 

Worship, Divine 23 

Works, Good 73 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY. 



SOUND DOCTRINE 

Our fathers made much of sound doctrine, 
emphasizing its importance on all occasions. 
The modern tendency is to steer shy of it. In 
fact, there is a growing aversion to doctrine, 
which is alarming. 

If we are to believe the Scripture, sound doc- 
trine is of the greatest importance to happiness 
in this life and that which is to come. Saint Paul 
says: *^A11 Scripture is given by the inspiration 
of God, and is profitable for doctrine'' (2 Tim. 
3. 16). Also he said to Timothy, "Take heed 
unto thyself, and unto the doctrine, continue in 
them ; for in doing this thou shalt save both thy- 
self and them that hear thee" (1 Tim. 4. 16). 
From these quotations, it is evident that doctrine 
is not only profitable, but upon it rests the salva- 
tion of men. Yet some people say: "It is a 
matter of little consequence what we believe, 
just so we live right; persons can believe any- 
thing, or nothing, but if they keep a good con- 
science they will be saved." 

If our doctrine is wrong, our life will be 
wrong also. We may not be as good as our 
belief, but we are never better. Without sound 

5 



6 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

Bible doctrine we will be about as stable in re- 
ligious life as a weather-vane is stable when 
moved by the wind. The Scripture says, *'Be 
no more children, tossed about to and fro, car- 
ried about by every wind of doctrine, by the 
sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby 
they lie in wait to deceive" (Eph. 4. 14). A good 
conscience is no substitute for sound doctrine, 
as Saul learned from sad experience when his 
"good conscience" led him to become the chief 
of sinners in persecuting the disciples of Christ, 
compelling them to blaspheme that holy name, 
and cast them in prison (1 Cor. 15. 9). The 
word of God is the only rule of faith, and we 
must have correct views of its teachings, or, like 
Saul, we may fall into grievous sins. 

Concerning the importance of sound doctrine, 
an old writer says : *'When the peace and purity 
of our minds, the rectitude and happiness of our 
lives, and the blessedness of eternity has so close 
and necessary a dependence upon the doctrines 
we imbibe that we thereby either secure or for- 
feit them ; who sees not, unless he be stupid and 
infatuated, that greater care and solicitude is 
necessary here than in any matter whatever be- 
cause there is no other of equal moment? Bad 
money or bad wares instead of good ; an ill title 
or conveyance instead of a firm and clear one 
may impoverish us ; bad drugs instead of good 
may infect the body and destroy the health; but 
what is all this to the dismal consequences of 
error and heresy, which impoverishes and infects 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 7 

the mind, perverts the life, and damns the man 
to all eternity? We must admit nothing hastily, 
assent to nothing without examining the grounds 
upon which it stands. Credulity, precipitation, 
and confidence are irreconcilable enemies to 
knowledge and wisdom." 

It seems, in these modern times, the easiest 
thing in the world to propagate false doctrines 
of the most unreasonable kind. The world was 
never so full of isms and schisms as now. All 
false teachers have to do is to put forth these 
new theories without any proof whatever, and 
there are people ready to accept them without 
questioning their correctness. Such is the ig- 
norance and depravity of men that they seem 
to sit like young birds with mouth wide open 
and swallow anything that is dropped in, with- 
out proper investigation. They swallow the 
wiggling worms of skepticism with much more 
relish than the bread of life. 

The tendency of this craving for new and 
improved theories of salvation is bringing con- 
fusion, doubts, and restlessness that is destruc- 
tive of Christian doctrine. 

INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE 

Wesley has well said: **The Bible must be 
the invention either of good men or angels, bad 
men or devils, or of God. It could not be the 
first, for they neither could nor would them- 
selves invent a book, meantime lying in saying, 
*Thus saith the Lord.' Not the second, for they 



8 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

would not make a book which commands all 
duty, forbids all sin, and condemns their souls 
to hell to all eternity ; therefore, the Bible must 
have been given by divine inspiration." 

There is abundant evidence of the inspiration 
of the Scriptures. First: The apostles declare 
it in language that cannot be questioned. Paul 
says: "All Scripture is given by the inspiration 
of God" (2 Tim. 3. 16). "Which things also we 
speak not in the words which man's wisdom 
teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth" 
(1 Cor. 2. 13). 

Second, Jesus Christ indorsed the belief in 
the inspiration of Scripture by copious quota- 
tions from the Old Testament, and numerous 
declarations as to the fulfillment of their proph- 
ecies in his day. 

Third, the numerous fulfillment of the proph- 
ecy of Scripture is one of the most convincing 
evidences of its divine inspiration. These proph- 
ecies which foretell events in the life of Christ 
and others hundreds of years before their ful- 
fillment are conclusive evidence of the inspira- 
tion of the Word. 

Fourth, we know the Scripture is inspired 
because of the wonderful things revealed therein. 
It brings immortality and eternal life to light 
with such clearness and authority as prove it to 
be of God. 

Fifth, we know the Scripture is inspired of 
God because of its marvelous influence upon the 
world. Its civilizing and elevating influence 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 9 

upon mankind is such as no uninspired book 
could have. The world has found by experience 
that it is ^'profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 
for correction, for instruction in righteousness'' 
(2 Tim. 3. 16). 

The fact of inspiration of Scripture is estab- 
lished beyond all question. The manner of in- 
spiration is not revealed, but it is not important, 
and no man is required to have a belief as to 
how the Holy Spirit accomplished this work. 

SEARCHING SCRIPTURE 

Searching the Scriptures is one of the great 
privileges and urgent duties of mankind. In it 
alone can we see the true image of our sinful 
hearts; in it alone is revealed the only salvation 
from sin; in it alone we have the standard of 
right and wrong, and in it alone do we find a 
hope of eternal life. 

Do you claim the Bible is not interesting, and 
for that reason refuse to read it? What kind of 
literary taste do men have who cannot become 
interested in a message from heaven concerning 
that which is necessary to peace, purity, happi- 
ness, and eternal life? Certain the lack of in- 
terest comes from a failure to search the Scrip- 
tures and ignorance of the glorious contents of 
the sacred volume. 

Do you say the Bible is too mysterious, you 
cannot understand it, and therefore do not read 
it? Of necessity, it deals with subjects some- 
what mysterious, as are all things pertaining to 



10 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

spiritual and eternal life. In books on philos- 
ophy, science, etc., you expect mysteries; how 
much more should they be expected in the treat- 
ment of the greater Bible subjects. By search- 
ing the Scripture the mysterious is often made 
plain and the difficult subjects are understood. 
They are only mysterious because people make 
so little effort to understand them. All things 
essential to salvation can be understood by the 
most illiterate of men. The unsolved mysteries 
of the Bible are largely matters of curiosity and 
not essential to a successful Christian life. 

Do you say the Bible is too old-fashioned 
and out of date; you want to read something 
more modern and of higher literary worth? Its 
antiquity is one of its chief glories; its preser- 
vation through the ages is one of the evidences 
of its inspiration and superiority and the greater 
reason why it should be read. As to its literary 
worth there is no other book that is its equal. 
It contains finer specimens of prose and poetry 
than can be found in any other book. No book 
under the shining sun is respected as much or 
quoted as frequently by literary men as is the 
Bible. But it is well to remember that the Bible 
was not written to please and to entertain men, 
but to convince them of sin and show them a 
Saviour through whom they might attain eternal 
life. The Master said, ^'Search the Scriptures, for 
in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they 
are they that testify of men" (John 5. 39). 

The search of Scripture is helpful because it 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 11 

shows man that he is a sinner and shows him 
the remedy for sin, and points him to eternal 
life. He who habitually studies the sacred pages 
soon learns to enjoy it and **his delight is in the 
law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate 
day and night'' (Psa. 1. 2). He loves the Bible 
above all other books because it never flatters or 
deceives, but always reveals people's faults and 
shows them as they are. In other words, it is 
God's true mirror in which we see our real con- 
dition. 

Some people when they read the Bible dis- 
like it and wish to smash the mirror because it 
presents a perfect picture of an old, hardened 
sinner. Will a man smash his dresser mirror 
because he sees an ugly, red-faced, pug-nosed, 
big-eared old man when he stands before that 
mirror? If not, why will men discard the Bible 
mirror because it gives them a view of a red- 
faced, pop-eyed old sinner when they read it? 
That is what a mirror is for, to give a true pic- 
ture and not to flatter. 

PERSONALITY OF SATAN 

"Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may 
be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" 
(Eph. 6. 11). '*Be sober, be vigilant; because 
your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walk- 
eth about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 
5. 8). '^Resist the devil and he will flee from 
you" (James 4. 7). 



12 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

"The doctrine of the existence of the devil 
enters so far into the essence of Christianity 
that those who deny it generally deny all the 
peculiar fundamental doctrines of the Bible. . . . 
One grand device of the devil is to beget a dis- 
belief in his own existence. This done, he 
springs his snare and his victims *are taken cap- 
tive at his will/ boasting all the while of their 
superior liberty and light, and crying out, 'No 
personal devil.' '' — N. D. George. 

We no longer have the old-time devil, but in 
his place we have the transformed devil. Not 
that the old-time devil has reformed and really 
become a different being. No; the devil never 
changes as to his hellish nature, neither has he 
in any sense been reformed, but he has been 
transformed into an angel of light. The prophecy 
of Paul, when he said, "Satan himself is trans- 
formed into an angel of light," has been fulfilled 
in these latter days. He no longer appears in 
his true character, wearing the livery of hell, but 
as an angel in the livery of heaven. 

The world has been progressing, old methods 
of doing business have passed away, and Satan's 
business seems to be no exception to the rule. 
Instead of the old-time devil we have the "trans- 
formed devil," who appears either as an angel of 
light or a high-toned gentleman. In olden times 
he attacked Christianity openly in the name of 
infidelity, declaring that the Bible was a forgery 
and Jesus Christ was a wretch. To-day he de- 
clares through his representatives that there is 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 13 

much truth in the Scriptures and that Jesus 
Christ was a good man, the only perfect man, 
yet he was not the Son of God. The open infi- 
delity of olden times is being replaced by "Ad- 
vanced Thought." It is the same old devil, but 
he is transformed into an angel of light. 

Is it not a fact that nearly all the skepticism, 
infidelity, false doctrine, and delusions of this age 
are proclaimed in the name of religion? The 
devil no longer appears with horns and cloven 
feet, but he is transformed and comes wearing a 
clergyman's coat, a white necktie, and a silk hat, 
and bearing the Bible in one hand and a volume 
on infidelity, skepticism, Mormonism, Sweden- 
borgianism, or Christian Science in the other. 
Let not the Christian accept all as Christianity 
that bears the name of Christianity. We must 
be constantly on the watch that we may be able 
to stand against the wiles of the devil. 

DIVINITY OF CHRIST 

The divinity of Christ is plainly taught by 
the following Scriptures: *'His name shall be 
called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, 
the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace" 
(Isa. 9. 6). "In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God, and the Word was 
God" (John 1. 1). "And again, when he bringeth 
in the first begotten into the world, he saith. 
And let all the angels of God worship him" 
(Heb. 1. 6). "God was manifest in the flesh" 
(2 Tim. 3. 16). "For in him dwelleth all the full- 



14 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

ness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2. 9). "If a 
man profess to be what he is not, what is he? He 
is a liar, an impostor, a hypocrite. That is your 
unanimous verdict. Now Christ professed to be 
a God. He said over and over again he was a 
God, took the attributes of a God, and assumed 
the works and office of a God. Dare you say he 
was not? He was a God or he was a wretch. 
Choose ye.'' 

"When thou hearest of Christ, do not think 
him God only, or man only, but both together. 
For I know Christ was hungry, and I know that 
with five loaves he fed five thousand men, be- 
sides women and children. I know Christ was 
thirsty, and I know Christ turned water into 
wine. I know Christ was carried in a ship, and 
I know Christ walked on the waters. I know 
Christ died, and I know Christ raised the dead. 
I know Christ was set before Pilate, and I know 
Christ sits with the Father. I know Christ was 
worshiped by the angels, and I know Christ was 
stoned by the Jews. And truly, some of these I 
ascribe to the human, others to the divine nature ; 
for by reason of this he is said to be both to- 
gether." — Saint Chrysostom. 

ATONEMENT OF CHRIST 

Christ's atonement was the offering of him- 
self upon the cross to satisfy divine justice in 
releasing mankind from the curse of sin. Paul 
says: "But God commendeth his love toward 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 15 

us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died 
for us. Much more than being justified by his 
blood, we shall be saved from wrath through 
him. For if when we were enemies we were 
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much 
more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his 
life. And not only so, but we joy in God through 
our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now 
received the atonement" (Rom. 5. 8-11). 

The atonement does not assure the salvation 
of all men, but places it within the reach of all, 
provided they will believe on the Lord Jesus and 
accept his atonement. While it does not assure 
a universal salvation it makes it possible for God, 
consistent with divine justice, to save all who 
will believe on his Son. "For God so loved the 
world that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
whosoever believeth on him should not perish 
but have everlasting life. He that believeth on 
him is not condemned, but he that believeth not 
is condemned already, because he hath not be- 
lieved on the name of the only begotten Son of 
God" (John 3. 16-18). 

Redemption or atonement, which means the 
same thing, was the last and crowning act neces- 
sary to the rescue of mankind from the curse of 
sin, and for this reason Jesus on the cross ex- 
claimed, *Tt is finished." That culminated the 
work, making salvation possible, and if men are 
not saved, it is because they reject God's plan of 
salvation. 

Many cannot understand how Christians can 



16 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

get any happiness from so sad a scene as that of 
the crucifixion. True, it was a great disgrace to 
die on a Roman cross, as did our Saviour, but his 
death took away the ignominy of the cross and 
made the cross to be cherished most highly by 
the great mass of humanity. Jesus said, **And 
if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all 
men unto me" (John 12. 32). This prophecy has 
been gloriously fulfilled. There is nothing in this 
world so attractive as the cross of Christ. That 
which brought sorrow and suffering to the Son 
of man now brings delight and joy to his faithful 
followers. That which to him was the great- 
est sorrow is to us the greatest help to hap- 
piness. 

The attractive power of the cross is marvel- 
ous. It possesses a magnetic influence which is 
equaled nowhere in nature. As we walk along 
the rugged mountain side we chance to stumble 
upon a little stone; it attracts our attention by 
its peculiar shape, grayish iron-like color, and 
great weight. We carry it home for further in- 
spection. Taking a hammer, we rub off the loose 
dirt and try to break it asunder that we may see 
its inward parts. In this we utterly fail and lay 
our hammer down, determined to try something 
else. That hammer chances to fall near a paper 
of loose tacks and, behold, they all cling to it as 
though it possessed some marvelous affinity for 
them. 

We take up an old file and undertake to file 
into the inner part of this stone. When our file 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 17 

is laid upon the table, behold, a lot of loose 
needles lying on the table are attracted to each 
end. What does all this mean? It is evidence 
that this is a lodestone, or magnetic stone, which 
possesses the marvelous power to magnetize any- 
steel that may come in contact with it. 

One remarkable thing about it is the fact that 
it loses no magnetic power by giving all this 
power to all steel that comes in contact with it. 
It will make a thousand magnets and yet be as 
powerful as at first. 

This beautifully illustrates the magnetic at- 
traction of the cross. The attraction of the cross 
is to-day one of the greatest powers in the uni- 
verse. Wherever that cross is carried in all parts 
of the world it possesses the marvelous power of 
drawing all men toward it as the magnet draws 
the steel. Like the magnet, it has the marvelous 
power of conveying the magnetic virtues to 
others without diminishing its power. Millions 
of souls have been saved through the magnetic 
power of the cross, yet, like the magnetic stone, 
it has never lost any of its power. The saving 
merits of the Lord Jesus is in his vicarious suf- 
fering, and we receive salvation through his blood 
alone. The miracles of Christ were wonderful, 
and were necessary to attest the divinity of our 
blessed Christ, but we never could be saved 
through the miracles of Christ. The teachings 
of Christ were an astonishment to the world. 
"He spake as never man spake," and that divine 
wisdom was a necessary preparation for the es- 



18 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

tablishment of his church, but we are not saved 
by the teachings of Christ. 

Christ's example of pure and holy living was 
a necessity. That example is telling upon the 
world for good to-day, and will continue to do so 
as long as the world stands. We need just such 
an example for the pattern of our Christian lives, 
yet Christ's example never saved a soul. No 
man need trust in the example of Christ for sal- 
vation. 

Neither can the miracles, the teachings, and 
the example of Christ combined ever save a soul. 
It is the precious blood alone that can save. 
Without the death of Christ all else would have 
been a failure, for Christian life is in the blood. 
The tube of faitti connects the Christian with 
Christ and the life-giving virtue ever flows into 
the soul. 

FREEDOM OF WILL 

The freedom of the human will is one of 
heaven's most glorious gifts to man. It is a favor 
bestowed upon no other of earth's creatures. All 
fowls of the air, fish of the sea, and animal cre- 
ation are made subject to man without their con- 
sent, but man was made without any such sub- 
jection to any one. He is the lord of creation. 
His submission to God is on condition of choice. 
Man has a freedom of will by which he can 
serve God or refuse to serve him, just as he 
chooses. There is no force or compulsion which 
controls human action in these matters. Men 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 19 

in creation are made free moral agents, with full 
power to choose good or evil, otherwise they 
would not be fit subjects of reward or punish- 
ment. God's justice would never permit any 
man to be punished for what he Mid of neces- 
sity and not choice. Both the Christian life and 
that of sin are always matters of choice. The 
Scripture says, ^'Choose ye this day whom ye 
will serve'' (Josh. 24. 15). Jesus said, "He that 
believeth on him is not condemned, but he that 
believeth not is condemned already because he 
hath not believed on the name of the only be- 
gotten Son of God" (John 3. 18). 

If human action is compulsory, man deserves 
no reward for good done. He cannot help it; 
neither does he deserve punishment for his sins, 
for he cannot help sinning. To reward or punish 
in such a case would be no more reasonable than 
for a truant officer to compel a child to go to 
school and then reward him for going, or punish 
a child for not going when he knew his parents 
had him tied to the bedpost and he could not go. 

If human action is not of choice, man is a 
mere machine, acting as he is acted upon, and 
is no more a subject of reward or punishment 
than would be a windmill for running or not 
running when the wind blows or does not blow. 

Some people suppose the foreknowledge of 
God destroys the freedom of the human mind. 
That God's omniscience includes all knowledge 
of the past, present, and future events will not 
be questioned by any. God's foreknowledge of 



20 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

future events, including the eternal destinies of 
men, has given many good people no little trou- 
ble and anxiety. Such say that if God foreknows 
the destiny of men for heaven or hell, they can- 
not change that destiny and there is no use to 
try. If they are foreknown to be lost they must 
be lost despite all efifort to be saved, and if they 
are foreknown to be saved they will be saved 
regardless of their sinful lives. 

Let all such remember that God never can 
foreknow that any souls will be lost unless they 
are going to be lost of their own choice of a life 
of sin ; nor does he ever foreknow that any will 
be saved unless they are to be saved of their own 
choice of a life of righteousness. God's fore- 
knowledge can never be the opposite of what 
men will do of their own free will, and such fore- 
knowledge can have no influence whatever on 
such free action. If I see a child running tow^ard 
a hidden pit and know he will fall into it, that 
knowledge of mine did not make him fall ; neither 
does God's foreknowledge that men will go to 
the bottomless pit of hell compel them to go. If 
they were going in that direction, but were going 
to turn from perdition, God's foreknowledge 
would not be damnation, but eternal life. 

Those who suppose that God's foreknowl- 
edge of men's destiny makes it impossible for 
them to control their destiny make the mistake 
of supposing that God's foreknowledge may be 
different, even the opposite of what men's actions 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 21 

will be of their own choice. This can never be. 
God can see all the crooks and turns in life and 
always foreknows what the end will be as deter- 
mined by our choice, not his foreknowledge. 
Scripture says, "God hath not cast away his peo- 
ple which he foreknew" (Rom. 11. 2). Now he 
did not fail to cast them away on account of the 
foreknowledge, but because they were his people 
and did his will. So God's foreknowledge never 
causes people to be cast away or to be saved ; 
that depends entirely upon the lives they choose 
to live or not to live. 

Some people think predestination or fore- 
ordination destroys the freedom of the human 
will. They say if God predestinates the punish- 
ment of men, they need not try to be saved, for 
it is impossible ; and if he predestinates that they 
shall be saved, they will be saved regardless of 
their lives. These are mistakes arising from the 
erroneous supposition that God predestines the 
salvation or punishment of men unconditionally. 
Such is not the case, for predestination to salva- 
tion is on condition of compliance with God's 
conditions of salvation, and predestination to 
punishment is conditioned upon man's rejection 
of salvation of his own choice. 

Predestination and foreordination mean the 
same in Scripture, and refer to God's decrees 
that a certain class shall be saved and a certain 
class will be lost. First God predestines or fore- 
ordains that a certain class shall go to perdition. 



22 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

namely, all who will not believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ for salvation. Of such the Scrip- 
ture says, **He that believeth not is condemned 
already, because he hath not believed in the name 
of the only begotten Son of God'' (John 3. 18). 
The destiny of all such is decreed or predestined, 
and they are as certain of hell as if they were 
already there, unless they mend their ways, re- 
pent, and believe on the Son of God. 

Second, God predestines, foreordains, or de- 
crees that a certain class shall be saved, namely, 
all who believe on the Lord Jesus for salvation, 
as is evident from the following Scripture : "For 
God so loved the world that he gave his only be- 
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life" 
(John 3. 16). All who so believe on the Lord 
Jesus are predestined to go to heaven and are 
as certain of heaven as if they were already there, 
unless of their own choice they despise the grace 
of God and turn back to the life of sin. Paul 
had this confidence of salvation when he wrote 
to the Ephesians, saying, "In whom we have 
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated ac- 
cording to the purpose of him who worketh all 
things after the counsel of his own purpose" 
(Eph. 1. 11). 

When we properly understand the Scripture 
it is apparent that our Creator has endowed us 
with a freedom of will which shall not be de- 
stroyed by any decrees of God, and the matter of 
our present and eternal happiness is within our 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 23 

own power. If we desire present and eternal 
happiness we can choose it, and if we prefer 
unhappiness and punishment we can choose that. 

DIVINE WORSHIP 

The Christian world has found by blessed ex- 
perience that one of the greatest helps to happi- 
ness is the worship of God. People of the world 
cannot understand this. They look upon wor- 
ship as a solemn and gloomy service suitable for 
the dying, but undesirable for the living. Men 
never make a greater mistake than this. True 
worship is a great comfort and joy to the dying, 
but it is just as well adapted to the wants of the 
living. Worship is not simpTIy a preparation for 
death ; it is as well a preparation for sane and 
joyful living. If there were no death and this 
were to be our eternal home, religion and divine 
worship would still be of the greatest importance 
to man. 

The command, "Worship God'' (Rev. 22. 9), 
mxay be the shortest command in the Bible, yet it 
is the most important. Why was such a com- 
mand given? Was it because the worship of 
man would benefit God? Certainly not; his fe- 
licity depends not upon man. Was it simply 
because he is God and has authority to give such 
a command? No; God never requires anything 
of man without there is some reason for it. Was 
it not because our heavenly Father sees that 
worship is beneficial to man ? Yes, this, and this 



24 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

alone, is the reason why man is required to wor- 
ship God. 

There is a want in the human soul that noth- 
ing but divine worship can satisfy. Notwith- 
standing the fact that by nature man is depraved 
and sinful, his heart deceitful above all things 
and desperately wicked, yet beneath it all there 
is, in the serious moments of life, a deep-seated 
desire for some object of worship. This is true 
of all men of every nation and tongue, and they 
find an object of worship if it must be the sun, 
moon, stars, fire, weather, wind, or images of liv- 
ing creatures. God, fully understanding man's 
natural demand for an object of worship, solves 
this worship problem by commanding divine 
worship, as none other could satisfy the wants 
of the human soul. 

Concerning divine worship, Watson has said : 
"I know of no pleasure so rich, none so pure, 
none so hallowing in their influences and con- 
stant in their supply as those which result from 
the true and spiritual worship of God. Pleasant 
as the cool water-brooks are to a thirsty hart, so 
pleasant will it be to us to approach unto the 
living God." 

FRIENDSHIP OF JESUS 

But few things are more needful to human 
happiness than friendship. God has given us 
social natures, and to be happy we must have 
friends. Human friendship at best has many im- 
perfections and disappointments. Christ is the 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 25 

only ideal Friend, possessing all the desirable 
elements of true friendship. Referring doubt- 
less to him, the Scriptures say, "There is a Friend 
that sticketh closer than a brother'* (Prov. 18. 
24). Yet this is but a weak presentation of the 
friendship of Jesus. The adaptation of his friend- 
ship to all classes and conditions of men is re- 
markable. He adapts himself to young and old, 
rich and poor, high and low, learned and ig- 
norant. 

Christ is an omnipotent Friend; always able 
to come to our relief in time of need. Not so 
with earthly friends ; they would help us, but are 
helpless to do so. 

Christ is an omnipresent Friend ; always pres- 
ent with all his friends, even though they be in 
numbers as the sands of the sea. Not so with 
earthly friends. We get into trouble and long 
for the help of them, but they are far away and 
cannot reach us in time to comfort us. 

Christ is an everlasting Friend: "Having 
loved his own which were in the world, he loved 
them unto the end'' (John 13. 1). "And lo I am 
with you alway, even to the end of the world" 
(Matt. 28. 20). Not so with the friendship of 
men ; alas ! how quick and unexpected does it 
sometimes end, and for what trivial causes! 
Men are sometimes friends because it pays them 
to befriend us, and when adversity comes they 
cease to be our friends. Not so with Christ ; he 
is then more dear than ever. We can rely upon 
the friendship of Jesus because it has borne the 



26 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

test of the ages and has never failed. ^'Greater 
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down 
his life for his friends. Ye are my friends if ye 
do whatsoever I command you'' (John 15. 13). 

Christ the Divine Friend can become more 
to you than all earthly friends. He can bring 
more sunshine and happiness into your life than 
all others. His friendship will not cause you to 
have less earthly friends, but it will greatly en- 
large your circles of friendship and enable you 
to enjoy earthly friends all the more. 

People who think that to become religious 
will sever their earthly friends and blight earthly 
happiness make a very great mistake. He who 
has the spirit of Christ has the best elements of 
true friendship and will retain all true friends 
and gain many more. 

GOOD CONSCIENCE 

It is conceded by all that the human con- 
science has much to do wuth the happiness of 
men. If men have a good conscience they can 
be happy regardless of their environments, and 
if they have a bad conscience they will be un- 
happy regardless of their external surroundings. 
A good conscience is not all that is necessary to 
perfect happiness, but no man can be perfectly 
happy without a good conscience. Paul could 
say, "We trust we have a good conscience in all 
things,'' and such should be the constant aim of 
all men. 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 27 

To live with a good conscience is of the great- 
est importance to every man, but w^e must not 
rely too much upon it, as it is not always a safe 
guide. Saul attributed the greatest sin of his 
life to his good conscience, the sin of persecuting 
and imprisoning the disciples of Jesus. He did 
it with all good conscience, but his was an un- 
enlightened conscience, and after he was con- 
verted he saw that his conscience had led him 
astray, and he never ceased to lament having 
done that which his conscience told him to do. 
This shows the folly of relying upon conscience 
alone as a guide in questions of morality. 

Conscience, to be a safe guide, must be edu- 
cated by the Word of God and enlightened by 
the Holy Spirit. One of the most dangerous 
things among men is an ignorant and unenlight- 
ened conscience, and it is very unwise for men 
to think they may do anything that their con- 
science does not condemn. 

Conscience, to be a safe guide, must also be 
habitually obeyed. The less we respect its au- 
thority, the less it warns us of evil. It is God's 
alarm clock in the soul, and if we refuse to obey 
its call and continue in the slumbers of sin, its 
call becomes less distinct, until at last we sleep 
soundly and hear it no more. 

We have a little alarm clock that we prize 
very highly. We can set it to call us at any hour 
in the night and it makes a racket at that time 
that would wake the dead if such a thing were 
possible. So long as we continue to obey that 



28 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

clock so long it will never fail to awake us at the 
hour desired, but if we hear it and say, "Give us 
a little more slumber,'' and do not arise, the next 
time it does not do its work so well. If we re- 
peatedly fail to get up when it calls, it will cease 
to awake us altogether. Not that it really does 
not make the effort, but by refusing to hearken 
to it we make it more difficult for it to awaken 
us. At first we awoke at the first stroke of the 
alarm hammer, but by continued refusal to obey 
its call it loses its power on us. It alarms as 
loudly as it ever did, but we have become more 
difficult to waken from our slumbers. 

That alarm clock is typical of the human con- 
science. God has placed conscience within us 
to awaken us from the slumbers of sin. Early in 
life we are easy to awaken by the first strokes 
of the hammer of conscience, but if we continue 
to refuse to obey its calls, at last, like our alarm 
clock, it will fail to awaken us. If men will but 
mind the dictations of their conscience it will 
awaken them and warn them of danger, but if 
they trample the authority of conscience under 
foot it will soon cease to awaken them or warn 
them of danger. 

Some want to believe that conscience is the 
only means by which men are to be rewarded 
or punished. They declare that the only heaven 
there is for men is the heaven of a good con- 
science, and the only hell there is for the wicked 
is the hell of a bad conscience. There is no 
foundation in Scripture for any such belief, and 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 29 

it is wholly an invention of men to allay the fears 
of judgment to come. 

In the first place, the rewards and punish- 
ments of conscience are not judicial in their in- 
tent, but reformatory, intended to encourage to 
do good and deter from doing evil. The joys of 
a good conscience is moving millions to the paths 
of virtue, while the terrors of an evil conscience 
prevents thousands from going farther in the 
paths of sin. Such is the purpose, and the only 
purpose, of conscience. 

That conscience can never be men's final 
judge and give them due reward and punish- 
ment is apparent in the fact that the better class 
of men have the conscience that punishes them 
the most severely for the few evils of which they 
are guilty, and the bad class of men are punished 
the least, and often not at all, for the many sins 
of which they are guilty. Certainly there could 
be no justice in making good men suffer more 
in proportion to sins committed than bad men, 
which is the case in the punishment of con- 
science, therefore it is apparent that the punish- 
ment of conscience is not a judicial punishment. 

EARLY PIETY 

The first reason for early piety is found in 
the divine command, "Remember now thy Cre- 
ator in the days of thy youth" (Eccl. 12. 1). One 
of the most charming things about the ministry 
of Christ was the fact that he preached a ''child's 
gospel," saying, "Suffer little children, and for- 



30 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

bid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the 
kingdom of heaven'' (Matt. 19. 14). In like man- 
ner did he often encourage childhood piety and 
emphasize the importance of an early consecra- 
tion to God. 

A second reason for early piety is that it gives 
more time for the Christian life-work. A v^hole 
life is none too long to fulfill our mission in life. 
It seems a shame to spend the best of life in sin, 
offer God the remnant, and then ask for a home 
in glory. 

A third reason for early piety is found in the 
danger of delay. When the habits of sin are 
once formed, it is very difficult to break away 
from them. It is a thousand times better never 
to learn to do evil than to let the chains of evil 
habit bind us, for it is so very hard ever to break 
them. And if by the grace and help of God they 
are broken they mar our life and leave us with a 
weakness of character and mental power caused 
by these evil habits of early life. 

When once our associations are formed in 
early life, it is almost impossible to break away 
from them, and the chances are that if a person 
does not become a Christian in early life, he 
never will. The great majority of people who 
are in the churches to-day entered the same in 
childhood. 

It is certainly a fearful mistake for Christians 
to suppose it is their duty to discourage early 
piety in children, and to oppose their becoming 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 31 

members of the church. These very things are 
often done by good people, who suppose that 
little children cannot understand religious mat- 
ters, and may later in life regret their actions. 
Children early in life, with the advantages of the 
Sunday school and church, know more about re- 
ligion than most people give them credit for 
knowing. Not only do they know, but they are 
intensely anxious to do what is required of them. 
As a rule, if they are discouraged and prevented 
making a religious profession and uniting with 
the church, they become so discouraged that they 
lose interest in their soul's salvation and never 
after manifest any interest in the religious life. 
To those who so oppose early piety and church 
membership the Lord Jesus says, '*Whoso shall 
offend one of these little ones which believe in 
me, it were better for him that a millstone were 
hanged about his neck and that he were drowned 
in the depth of the sea" (Matt. 18. 6). Some one 
has well said that "the most important ten years 
of human life is from five to fifteen years of age. 
The vast majority of those who pass twenty irre- 
ligious are never converted at all." 

These days time-locks are very common ; they 
are found in almost every bank in the land, and, 
more than that, they are on most every unsaved 
heart in the land. Almost all men expect at some 
time to open their hearts to Christ and seek sal- 
vation, but they fix the time in the near or distant 
future. For the time being their hearts are 



I 



32 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

locked against all good influence, and no power 
can enter until the time indicated by the time- 
locks in their hearts. 

In childhood Christ seeks admission to the 
hearts of many, but they lock their hearts against 
him by paternal advice until they are old enough 
to know what they are doing, so they set the 
time-lock to be opened at early manhood. 

Christ comes to some at early manhood and 
finds them locked, to be opened after their wild 
oats are sown. They must see the pleasures and 
sports of the world first. They cannot afford to 
settle down and be pious until they see the world 
and have some fun. 

Christ comes to some in middle life and finds 
their hearts locked with a time-lock set to be 
opened when they get a good start in life and 
accumulate wealth. They are too busy with busi- 
ness and family cares to be Christians until they 
are in circumstances of comfort and leisure. 

Christ comes to some in the decline of life 
and finds their hearts locked with the time-lock 
set to be opened just before death. When the 
children are all educated and start out into life, 
then they will find leisure to open their hearts 
and accept salvation. To some the time comes 
that death suddenly calls them into eternity with 
hearts locked against Christ. Others in the last 
hours open their hearts to Christ, offer the tag 
end of life to God, and ask to be admitted to 
eternal happiness. 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 33 

CONVICTION OF SIN 

Conviction of sin is the influence of the Holy 
Spirit by which we are convinced that we are 
sinners and in need of salvation to save us from 
eternal death. It is not conversion, but rather 
our realization of our need of that. It always 
precedes conversion or the new birth, and is an 
entirely separate and independent experience. 
Christ had reference to this work when he spoke 
of the work of the Holy Spirit, saying, "And 
when he is come he will reprove the world of 
sin and of righteousness and of judgment" (John 
16. 8). 

Conviction of sin is sometimes an instan- 
taneous work, and sometimes it is gradual. 
Sometimes it comes in answer to the prayer of 
self or others, and sometimes without the asking. 
In this respect it differs from conversion, which 
is never received except in answer to prayer. 
Conviction sometimes comes gently and some- 
times in overwhelming power, but it never com- 
pels the sinner to submit to God and become a 
Christian. If persistently resisted, conviction 
often gradually disappears and the sinner is un- 
changed, except to become more hardened in 
sin. No man is ever saved by conviction of sin, 
and the best it can do is to show men their need 
of salvation, and they must come to Christ to 
find it. It is a great mistake for men to suppose 
that because they have been awakened and are 
intensely concerned about their souls that they 



34 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

are, by such conviction of sin, made children of 
God. It is good to have such an interest in sal- 
vation, and if we submit to God it will lead to a 
happy Christian experience, but of itself it brings 
no peace with God. 

Paul's experience forcibly illustrates the dif- 
ference between conviction and conversion. He 
was convicted irresistibly on the highway, but 
he was converted in Damascus after he had spent 
days in prayer. When the old preacher came 
and prayed for him, he was converted, the scales 
of sin fell from his eyes, and he was made a child 
of God. He went forth from that hour a new 
man and began to preach the doctrine he had 
formerly condemned. 

The error of supposing that conviction is con- 
version is a very common one. Many persons 
are deeply convicted of sin, but failing to make 
a full surrender to God, that peculiar convicting 
power disappears and they suppose they are con- 
verted. Conviction reveals to man his sins. 
Conversion cleanses the man from his sins. Men 
never receive conversion without being first con- 
victed, but they are often convicted and never 
converted. 

REPENTANCE FOR SIN 

"I tell you, nay ; but except ye repent, ye shall 
all likewise perish" (Luke 13. 5). "Repent and 
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus 
Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall re- 
ceive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 1. 38). 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 35 

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted'' (Acts 
3. 10). "Repent and turn yourselves from all 
your transgressions ; so iniquity shall not be your 
ruin" (Ezek. 18. 30). 

While repentance is positively the duty of all 
as a condition of salvation, we must not suppose 
that it possesses any intrinsic merit to put av^ay 
sin. "It does not change the legal relation of the 
guilty to God. Nothing but pardon can change 
that relation, for nothing but pardon can cancel 
crime, and it is clear that repentance does not 
pardon." 

Evangelical repentance consists of deep sor- 
row for sin because it is displeasing to God, not 
because of the penalty that follows sin or the 
reward that follows righteousness. If there were 
no hell to shun, nor heaven to gain, the truly 
penitent soul would still be sorry for and forsake 
sin because it is offensive to Almighty God. 

Repentance is one of the conditions of pardon 
and regeneration, and always precedes or attends 
them. Sometimes repentance precedes conver- 
sion several days, as in the experience of Saul, 
and sometimes it attends regeneration, as in the 
experience of the three thousand converts on the 
day of Pentecost. 

While repentance is a condition of salvation, 
it possesses no merit of itself and cannot change 
our legal relation to God; pardon alone can do 
that. Neither does repentance change our sinful 
natures, as many have supposed. Conversion, 
regeneration, or the new birth alone can do that. 



36 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

Repentance is one of the first and most important 
steps in salvation, but no man is ever saved by 
repentance alone. If a man v^ere to repent and 
go no further, depending on that alone for sal- 
vation, he would certainly be lost. ''Ye must be 
born again!" 

Repentance is a universal duty ; there are no 
exceptions; all have sinned and must comply 
with this one of the first conditions of salvation. 
"And the times of this ignorance God winked at ; 
but now he commandeth all men everywhere to 
repent'' (Acts 17. 30). 

Bishop Taylor has said: "If we refuse to re- 
pent now, we do not so much refuse to do our 
own duty as to accept of a reward. It is the 
greatest and dearest blessing that ever God gave 
to men, that they may repent; and therefore to 
deny it or to delay it is to refuse health brought 
by the skill of the Physician; it is to refuse lib- 
erty indulged to us by our gracious Lord." 
Think not of repentance as a duty, but as a privi- 
lege, not as a burden, but as a joy. 

CHRISTIAN VOWS 

Every person who truly repents of sin feels a 
desire to forsake them and make a vow to lead 
a better life. Such vows become a means of pre- 
venting their return to the ways of sin many 
times. At all times during Christian life vows 
of consecration are very helpful. 

Good resolutions have been the means of 
bringing untold good to humanity. Many a man 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 37 

has come to Christ in fulfillment of sacred vows. 
Many a man has been kept faithful to duty by 
remembrance of solemn pledges. Many a man 
is now in heaven as a result of good resolutions. 
Yet there are many people who are constantly 
crying out against good resolutions. 

It is real comical to see some people so set 
against vows and pledges, saying they are made 
to be broken and do more harm than good. Then 
suddenly they get the vow-making fever and 
awake the parson at midnight that they may 
take the marriage vows. To be consistent such 
people should never get married, for marriage 
vows ar^ among the most sacred and solemn of 
all vows, and they are the most frequently 
broken. All such people should either quit get- 
ting married, or cease their tirade on pledge 
taking and vow making. 

Good resolutions are of no little value in re- 
ligious life. They are not to be lightly esteemed 
because so frequently broken. No man becomes 
a Christian without some good resolutions, and 
no man continues a Christian who despises them. 

While good resolutions are very important, 
we may not hope to be saved simply because we 
have resolved to quit our meanness and lead a 
better life. There is much more in religion than 
good resolutions, and if we take them for the 
whole of salvation they thereby become to us a 
stumbling block upon which we may fall and 
lose our souls. We should rather make then) 
stepping-stones to bring us up out of sin and 



38 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

near to God. Who does not know that good 
resolutions are often the turning point in life, 
and without them many a glorious saint would 
have been lost? Let us make them and, by the 
grace of God, let us keep them. "I will pay my 
vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all 
his people'' (Psa. 116. 14). 

CONFESSION OF SIN 

Many people think confession of wrongdoing 
of any kind a great humiliation and much to be 
dreaded. This is a great mistake. True, there 
is much hesitancy in approaching confession as 
a rule, but when the confession is once made the 
heart is eased and we find such comfort and 
happiness as we could not possibly have without 
confession. 

Men by nature are very much averse to con- 
fessing their sins. As a rule they prefer to hide 
them. Such a course never leads to happiness, 
for there is ever a fear that they may be discov- 
ered, and the consciousness of hidden sin always 
mars human happiness more or less. There is 
always a consciousness that one may at some 
time be called upon to face them and receive 
punishment. But if we confess our sins and get 
rid of them entirely, we have a peace and happi- 
ness which is indescribable. 

There is some meanness about all of us, and 
if people think differently it is usually because 
of the success of the party in hiding that mean- 
ness. Hiding meanness began in the morning 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 39 

of the world's history in the Garden of Eden, 
and has been practiced in all ages down to the 
present time. Most of us begin our meanness 
very early in life, and we begin to hide that 
meanness about the same time. It cannot be 
successfully hidden. Adam, Eve, Jacob, Solo- 
mon, David, and Judas tried it, but they failed. 

Confession of sin is one of the conditions of 
pardon, and it is one of the most difficult things 
to get men to do. Though convinced that they 
are by nature sinful, they are very loth to con- 
fess their sins. All must become willing to con- 
fess their wickedness if they hope to be saved, 
for such is the divine requirement. Scripture 
says, *Tf we confess our sins, he is faithful and 
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from 
all unrighteousness" (John 1. 9). This shows 
that confession of sin must always precede par- 
don and conversion or soul cleansing. 

Confession possesses no merit of itself, does 
not change our relation to God, cleanse our 
hearts from sin, or bring us into the kingdom of 
God, but is simply one of the conditions to be 
complied with before we can enjoy these bless- 
ings and become heirs of eternal life. 

FORSAKING SIN 

Forsaking their sins is the one thing that a 
lot of people do not want to do. They think 
they will be happier by holding on to certain 
sins than they would if they were forsaken. This 
is a very great mistake. Sin always brings un- 



40 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

happiness in the end, if not the beginning. True 
and permanent happiness never comes from sin. 

Forsaking sin is one of the conditions of sal- 
vation. This is the thing that many seekers of 
salvation are slow to do, for attachment to sin 
becomes very powerful in the course of years. 
Unless men are willing to do this they need not 
hope to secure the pardon of sin. ''He that 
covereth his sins shall not prosper, but v/hoso- 
ever confesseth and forsaketh them shall have 
mercy" (Prov. 28. 13). 

The man who is determined to hold on to 
even one dear sinful practice cannot receive 
mercy or find any kind or degree of salvation. 
The seeker is not permitted to forsake part of 
his sins w^hen he first believes and the remainder 
when he seeks higher attainments later in life, as 
some have supposed. If he were to try that, he 
would find no peace whatever. He who wishes 
to live part sinner and part saint continues to 
live all sinner and no saint. The reason of this 
is plain to be seen, for Christ says: "No man 
can serve two masters; for either he v/ill hate 
the one and love the other, or else he will hold 
to the one and despise the other: ye cannot serve 
God and Mammon" (Matt. 6. 24). 

No sin can be left in the heart without en- 
dangering the whole religious life. On this sub- 
ject Mr. Brooks says: *'Look, as one drop of ink 
coloreth a whole glass of water, so one gross sin, 
one shameful action, one hour's compliance with 
anything anti-Christ, will color and stain all the 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 41 

great things that ever you have suffered, and all 
the good things that ever you have performed; 
it will stain and color all the good prayers you 
have ever made, and all the good sermons that 
ever you have heard, and all the good books that 
ever you have read, and all the good words that 
ever you have spoken, and all the good works 
that ever you have done, and therefore, whatever 
you do, keep off from sin and keep off from all 
sinful compliances as you would keep off from 
hell itself." 

FORGIVING OTHERS 

Forgiving others is something many people 
do not like to do, and they cannot see how any- 
body can get any happiness by it. That is no 
marvel, for revenge and hatred are human, and 
forgiveness is Godlike. Man has an aversion by 
nature to forgiveness, but when duty drives him 
to forgive others there comes to him a sweet 
satisfaction and great happiness. 

Forgiving others is a condition of securing 
divine forgiveness. In the Lord's Prayer we 
are taught to say, ''Forgive us our trespasses as 
we forgive those who trespass against us." The 
blessed Christ said, "If ye forgive not men their 
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your 
trespasses." Also he says, "He shall have judg- 
ment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy." 

Just such unwillingness to forgive others who 
have wronged us often delays the coming of for- 
giveness and peace to our souls. Some are so 



42 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

determined to not submit to this condition of 
salvation that they never find salvation from sin. 
Such persons are determined that God shall do 
for them what they are not willing to do for 
others on a smaller scale, and for that reason 
they seek in vain. 

Are we curious to know why God makes such 
a condition of forgiveness of sin ? Certainly it is 
not simply because he is God and has power to 
make such a requirement of penitent souls. Nay, 
nay ; it must be required because it is right that 
if we would be forgiven we must forgive others. 
Not to do so would plainly show that we were 
not fit subjects to be forgiven. To hold hatred 
or revenge in our hearts would certainly block 
our way to salvation, even if God had not made 
forgiveness of others a condition of our forgive- 
ness. How could we possibly become saints so 
long as we cherished such evil passions within 
our breasts? "Ye cannot serve God and Mam- 
mon," or Christ and the devil, at the same time. 

RESTITUTION FOR WRONGS 

Restitution is the restoration of that which 
has unjustly been taken from a person. Every 
seeker of salvation and every Christian is re- 
quired so to do so far as in their power. The 
Scripture says, "He shall make full restitution" 
(Exod. 22. 3). Zaccheus said to Christ, "If I 
have taken anything from any man by false accu- 
sation, I will restore him fourfold." Jesus said 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 43 

unto him, "This day is salvation come to this 
house" (Luke 19. 9). 

Some doubtless are ready to ask, **How is it 
possible to get any happiness by restitution?" 
If you have never wronged any man, there can 
be no restitution for you to make. But rf you 
have wronged any person, the thoughts of it 
make you unhappy and by prompt restitution 
you can remove this impediment to your happi- 
ness. 

There may be no intrinsic merit in restitu- 
tion. It is simply doing justice to those who 
have been wronged. But this act of justice re- 
lieves condemnation of conscience and secures 
human and divine approval, thereby bringing 
happiness. 

When God makes restitution a condition of 
pardon of sin it is because honesty is right and 
necessary to Christianity, and not because he 
wishes to make hard terms of salvation. While 
to the sinner restitution may seem an unpleasant 
task, to the truly penitent soul it becomes a great 
delight and a source of great satisfaction and 
happiness. 

CONSECRATION TO GOD 

Consecration means a setting apart for sacred 
purposes or a dedication of oneself to God. To 
many people this seems to be a great sacrifice, 
and how we can find happiness in it they do not 
understand. To them it seems to be a privation 
or sacrifice highly unpleasant. This is a very 



44 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

great mistake, for in dedicating our all to God 
we are but returning what properly belongs to 
him, for we are his by creation and redemption. 
Again, giving ourselves to our heavenly Father 
is not like giving ourselves to strangers, for God 
gives us in return far more than we sacrifice. 
Consecration to God is more like a bride giving 
herself to the bridegroom. In that case all is not 
lost to her. She gets much in return. Just so 
with everyone who dedicates life, time, talent, 
treasures, and all they are, or hope to be, to the 
service of God. The seeming sacrifice is in 
reality the best bargain they ever made. But, 
of course, the motive of consecration must not 
be the expectation of returns, but a conscious- 
ness that they are fulfilling the divine command. 
He who consecrates himself to God must make 
a full and complete surrender of all to him, not 
for a season only, but for all time. 

A full consecration to God is one of the con- 
ditions on which men receive salvation. God 
demands the whole heart and life, and will accept 
nothing less. The man who is not willing to do 
anything, be anything, or suffer anything that 
God may require is not fit for the kingdom of 
God, and can find no kind or degree of salvation. 

It is the greatest folly for Christians to state 
they never made a full consecration to God until 
after they had been Christians for years. They 
either made a full consecration when they first 
professed, or they were not saved at that time, 
for God never accepts any half-way consecration 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 45 

or service. His command is, "Turn unto the Lord 
thy God with all thy heart and with all thy souF' 
(Deut 30. 10). 

We must not make the mistake of supposing 
that a full consecration at the beginning of Chris- 
tian life necessarily includes everything that we 
will ever need to consecrate to God. It includes 
all that we have and are at that time, but as the 
years go by other possessions, gifts, resources, 
and opportunities may come into our lives, and 
as fast as they come they should be consecrated 
to God, otherwise our consecration becomes im- 
perfect and incomplete. A full consecration after 
years of service should mean more than in the 
beginning because of increased possessions, gifts, 
and opportunities of usefulness ; yet it is a perfect 
and full consecration from the very beginning, 
for it includes all within our possibilities. 

The Christian consecration must not only be 
full and complete, but it must also be perpetual 
and everlasting. Our motto should be, **A11 for 
the Lord and for the Lord always." To give all 
to God until we get saved and established in the 
church, then gradually to withdraw that which 
we have consecrated to God, is a sharp practice 
which is inconsistent with Christianity and is 
certain to bring leanness of soul, self-condemna- 
tion, and loss of our "first love," if not the loss of 
the soul. 

Consecration to God is not only a help to 
present happiness, but it is the turning point in 
life, the act of decision, that determines the eter- 



46 " DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

nal happiness of the child of God to a great ex- 
tent. The day of a man's consecration to God is 
one of the greatest days of his life because upon 
it often hinges his eternal destiny. 

EFFECTUAL PRAYER 

"The efifectual fervent prayer of a religious 
man availeth much." Thank God, the days of 
answer to prayer are not past. God is still will- 
ing to save sinners in answer to believing prayer. 
"I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lift- 
ing up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." 

Prayer is certainly one of man's greatest 
blessings, but alas ! how many fail to employ it. 
Prayer to be effectual must be according to the 
will of God, in the name of Jesus, with unwaver- 
ing faith, fervency of soul, and persistency. If 
prayer ever fails, it must be for lack of one or 
more of these essentials to successful prayer. 

But few things so help to happiness as the 
promises of God. They are without number, 
and are adapted to every want and necessity of 
men. As Beecher has said, "God builds for 
every sinner, if he will but come back, a highway 
of golden promises from the depth of degrada- 
tion and sin clear up to the Father's house." 

The number and adaptation of God's prom- 
ises are something marvelous. There is not a 
step in our pilgrimage from earth to heaven that 
our feet may not rest on some stepping-stone of 
divine promise, and there is not a temptation, 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 47 

trial, trouble, affliction, or bereavement that 
comes to us but we will find some precious prom- 
ises adapted to that particular need. Well might 
Peter, after a long Christian experience, say, 
"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great 
and previous promises; that by these ye might 
be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped 
the corruption that is in the world through lust" 
(2 Pet. 1. 4). 

All men are rich in divine promises if in noth- 
ing else. The heritage of golden promises com- 
ing to every one is of far more value than the 
biggest estates inherited. These precious prom- 
ises of God, if rightly used, will prove to be of 
greater value and greater benefit than all the 
golden treasure, costly gems, and glittering dia- 
monds of earth. How strange it is that they are 
not more highly appreciated and more extensively 
employed in the betterment of mankind and the 
salvation of men ! 

Prayer is one of the conditions of salvation. 
No man ever gets salvation without prayer. It 
is only those who seek that find, and the door 
of salvation is open only to those who knock. 
Many times people desire salvation for weeks, 
months, and years, but do not find it because 
they will not pray. Not a few times does the 
tempter make them believe they are so sinful 
they dare not pray, and when that is the case he 
keeps them captive at his will. 

If we would make prayer one of the greatest 
powers for good we must not forget to ask in the 



48 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

name of the Lord Jesus. Christ has said, "What- 
soever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he 
will give it to you" (John 15. 16). 

One day we drove out into the country to 
call on Captain Hopkins, president of a national 
bank. We found he had gone to the city, but 
was expected to return soon. We waited several 
hours before he arrived, and when he came he 
apologized, saying he had been detained much 
longer than he had expected. A shipment of 
currency had been unexpectedly received by the 
bank, and he had to sign it before he could leave. 

The money issued by the bank came from 
Washington in large sheets containing a number 
of bills all printed and ready for circulation, ex- 
cept they must have the signature of the presi- 
dent of the bank written on each in his own 
handwriting. The captain told us it was neces- 
sary for him to be very careful in signing cur- 
rency, always writing his name exactly the same 
way. 

His name was what gave value to the cur- 
rency ; without it the bills might look like money, 
but they were of no value. We told the captain 
that we would have taken the bills every time 
without even thinking of looking for his signa- 
ture, and so would most people, without even 
suspecting that they were of no value. He said 
we might, but they would soon be detected as 
counterfeit at any bank. 

To our minds such unsigned currency would 
be like a good many people's prayers — they 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 49 

sound all right and look all right, but they are 
worthless because they do not have the signature 
of the Captain of our salvation. Such Christians 
fail to ask in the name of Jesus, and for that 
reason their prayers are of no avail. Every 
check we draw on the bank of heaven must have 
the indorsement of Christ, the Captain of our 
salvation, or they will be rejected as worthless 
counterfeits. Our prayers, like the captain's cur- 
rency, will go through all right if they have the 
proper signature as an indorsement. If we over- 
look the divine indorsement they will be rejected 
as counterfeit. 

PARDON OR JUSTIFICATION 

Pardon and justification are one and the same 
work. It consists of an act of God in heaven by 
which all sin is forgiven, or blotted out, and man 
is made just in the sense of considering him as 
just for Christ's sake. "Therefore, being justified 
by faith, we have peace with God through our 
Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5. 1). 

Justification or pardon is the act of God, not 
in man, but in heaven; not upon man, but for 
man, and is not to be taken for the work of re- 
generation, which is the work of the Holy Spirit 
in the hearts of men. One has said, "The orig- 
inating cause of justification or pardon is God's 
unspeakable love, the meritorious cause is the 
atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the in- 
strumental cause is faith in the Lord Jesus." 
Though God justifies men and removes their sins 



50 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

as far from them as the East is from the West, 
yet we must not think that he has any the less 
hatred of sin. 

Pardon or justification is always a complete 
and perfect work. If God cannot forgive all sin, 
he does not forgive any. When he pardons, he 
pardons completely, fully, abundantly : **Let the 
wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man 
his thoughts ; and let him return unto the Lord, 
and he will have mercy upon him, and to our 
God, for he will abundantly pardon'' (Isa. 55. 7). 
Pardon is absolutely necessary to the salvation 
of men. No man can take his sins to heaven, 
howsoever much he may desire to do so. 

Pardon of sin is certainly one of the greatest 
helps to human happiness. Tongue can never 
tell the peace and joy that comes to the soul 
when the burdens of sin are removed and man 
is justified through faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

DIVINE ADOPTION 

Adoption is the act of God in heaven by 
which justified persons are received into the 
family of God and made heirs of heaven on con- 
dition of final perseverance. "For ye have not 
received the spirit of bondage again to fear ; but 
ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby 
we cry Abba, Father" (Rom. 8. 15). "If chil- 
dren, then heirs of God and joint heirs with 
Christ" (Rom. 8. 17). 

One has well said : "Adoption differs from 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 51 

conversion, regeneration, or the new birth, in the 
fact that it is an act of God in heaven, while they 
are a work on the Holy Spirit in the heart on 
earth. Adoption is a work done for us ; conver- 
sion or regeneration is a work done in us." 

The work of adoption and justification are 
somewhat similar; they are both acts of God in 
heaven, yet they differ as to time and otherwise. 
Justification is an act of God as Judge by which 
penitents are freed from condemnation, and for 
Christ's sake considered just; adoption is the 
act of God as Father, receiving those who have 
been justified into his family. Both works go 
together; none are adopted who have not been 
justified, and none are justified without being 
also adopted. 

We should not forget that the gracious privi- 
lege of adoption into" the heavenly family brings 
with it obligations on our part as children. 
"Those whom God adopts he loves, protects, 
guides, and corrects. On their part he requires 
submission, obedience, love, and service." 

WITNESS OF HOLY SPIRIT 

The witness of the Spirit is the inner con- 
sciousness of the adoption into God's family of 
all regenerated people. All Christians have this 
witness of the Holy Spirit that they are children 
of God. "The Spirit itself beareth witness with 
our spirit that we are children of God'* (Rom. 
8. 16). "He that believeth on the Son of God 
hath the witness in himself" (1 John 5. 10). 



52 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

"And God, which knoweth the hearts, bear them 
witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he 
did unto us" (Acts 15. 8). "Hereby know we 
that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he 
hath given us of his Spirit" (1 John 4. 13). 

Some say they cannot accept this doctrine of 
the witness of the Spirit because it is too mys- 
terious and they cannot see how it is possible. 
You are not expected to understand how it is 
done — that is not important and is not revealed, 
but the fact that Christians have such an ex- 
perience is revealed and should be accepted by 
faith in God's Word, then known by blessed ex- 
perience. It is unwise to reject everything that 
is mysterious. All things pertaining to spiritual 
life, and even natural life, are full of mysteries. 
You cannot understand how an apple grows ; will 
you for that reason deny that it does grow and 
refuse to eat it? You cannot understand how 
an immortal spirit can dwell in a human body; 
that is as mysterious as this doctrine of the wit- 
ness of the Spirit ; will you disbelieve it because 
it is mysterious? If not, why deny the blessed 
witness of the Spirit to our adoption into the 
heavenly family? 

Do you say that if God could but telegraph, 
telephone, or send his message of acceptance by 
wireless, how much more satisfactory it would 
be? Has not every Christian the telegraph wire 
of faith resting on the posts of divine promise 
and entering into the central office of heaven? 
Have we not all a telephone wire of divine love, 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 53 

supported by ten thousand acts of divine good- 
ness, and connecting us with the angelic head- 
quarters in the presence of God? What is the 
"wireless" but this blessed witness of the Spirit 
of which we speak? If men can convey mes- 
sages thousands of miles by wireless, shall it be 
thought a thing incredible that the Holy Spirit 
shall communicate to human hearts the fact of 
their admission into the heavenly family? Be 
it remembered that the Spirit makes sure of the 
delivery of his message to every Christian by 
coming himself into each heart and there con- 
tinuing as an abiding witness. 

It is a great mistake to suppose the Spirit 
comes as a witness at the time of our conversion 
and then takes his departure forever. Jesus said : 
"I will pray the Father, and he shall give you 
another Comforter, that he may abide with you 
forever" (John 14. 16). Dr. Adam Clarke, speak- 
ing of this abiding witness, says: "And this is 
not a momentary influx ; if we take care to walk 
with God, and not grieve the Holy Spirit, we 
shall have an abiding testimony; and while we 
continue faithful to our adopted Father, the Spirit 
that witnesseth that adoption will continue to 
witness it." 

It may be well to note that sometimes this 
testimony of the Spirit becomes more clear the 
longer we have the abiding Spirit. Most people 
may have a clear evidence of their acceptance in 
the beginning of Christian life, but it seems that 
with some the beginning is as the dawn of day, 



54 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

and only after a period of faithful service and 
prevailing prayer do they have an experience 
that is as "a shining light that shineth more and 
more unto the perfect day" (Pro v. 4. 18). 

That adoption into the heavenly family is a 
great help to happiness must be apparent to all. 
Among the blessings of adoption are communi- 
cation with our heavenly Father, fellowship with 
the family of God, divine protection from evil, 
divine provision for all spiritual wants, and our 
inheritance at God's right hand. What more 
could any man desire? How strange that all do 
not seek adoption into the heavenly family and 
the witness of the Spirit that they are the chil- 
dren of God ! 

CONVERSION OR REGENERATION 

Conversion in its highest sense is not simply 
a change of sentiment, purpose, belief, or faith, 
but a radical change of heart and life, a turning 
from the service of Satan to the service of the 
living God. It is not anything that men can do 
for themselves, or for each other, but a divine 
work which Deity alone can accomplish. Man 
has much to do as a preparation for the reception 
of the converting grace of God, such as repent- 
ance, consecration, and prayer for salvation, but 
conversion itself is always the work of God. We 
are commanded to be converted, but not to con- 
vert ourselves, but unfortunately some persons 
are determined to try to do God's part instead ot 
their own. 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 55 

Conversion is generally conceded to be an in- 
stantaneous work, but some suppose it is a grad- 
ual work from the fact that the approach to it is 
often gradual and the clearness of the evidence 
of the work is sometimes delayed. Sometimes 
people, after being convicted of sin, spend a long 
time in the preparatory works of repentance, con- 
fession, consecration, and prayer before getting 
where God can save them by conversion, and for 
that reason they get the impression that conver- 
sion is a gradual work. Others when converted 
are not very clear in their evidence of salvation 
at first, but it becomes more clear and satisfac- 
tory as they do their duty and become more 
trustful, hence they conclude that conversion is 
a gradual work. 

The feelings or emotions attending conver- 
sion are often quite different with different indi- 
viduals. This may be accounted for in part by 
the great variety of temperaments, etc., but these 
do not altogether account for this diversity of 
experience. 

Some people when converted are overcome 
with joy and manifest it by "walking and leap- 
ing and praising God" (Acts 3. 8). Some are 
less demonstrative, but feel a heavenly rest of 
soul and sweet peace of mind that assures them 
that all the condemnation of sin is passed away. 
Others can scarcely tell the moment that the 
change from death unto life occurs, but the com- 
ing of the light of salvation into their souls is 
very much like the coming of the natural day. 



56 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

No man can tell the exact moment when the day- 
light comes, but when the darkness is gone and 
the sun is shining there can be no question but 
it has come. It seems to be so with some as to 
conversion ; they may not be able to tell the exact 
time it occurred, but they know that the dark- 
ness of sin is past and that the light of the Sun 
of righteousness is in their hearts. There is no 
doubt whatever as to the fact that they are saved, 
even though they may not be able to tell the 
exact time they passed from death unto life. 
They can say, "One thing I know, that whereas 
I was blind, now I see" (John 9. 25). 

No Christian should think that other people 
have no religion because they do not profess an 
experience just like their own, and no seeker 
should doubt his conversion because he does not 
have the same degree of emotions that others 
may have had, or shout the praises of God as did 
others. 

Conversion or regeneration must not be taken 
for justification, as is often the case. It is always 
a separate and distinct work, though occurring 
at the same time. Justification differs from re- 
generation : 

First: In the fact that it is the work of God 
the Father, while regeneration is the work of the 
Holy Spirit. 

Second : It is a work in heaven, while regen- 
eration is in the heart on earth. 

Third: It relieves us of actual sins, while 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 57 

regeneration relieves us of moral corruption in 
the heart. 

Fourth : It saves us from the guilt of sin, 
while regeneration saves us from the corruption 
of sin. 

"Except ye be converted, and become as little 
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of 
heaven" (Matt. 18. 3). "Repent ye therefore 
and be converted" (Acts 3. 19). 

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP 

We are aware that many people cannot see 
how church membership can be a help to happi- 
ness, for they have been taught that it is a bur- 
den and a surrender of the pleasures of the world. 
This is a very great mistake. Church member- 
ship is never a painful burden. It has its duties, 
but they are pleasant and agreeable duties which 
the true Christian delights to perform. 

Church membership has its self-sacrifices, but 
they are only such as are best for the welfare of 
the child of God. If members of the church sac- 
rifice pleasure, it is only sinful pleasure such as 
is harmful to them as well as displeasing to God. 
The church of God is desirous that all men shall 
enjoy the greatest liberty and freedom of action 
consistent with the welfare of men and glory of 
God. If men are required to observe the Sabbath, 
it is because the Sabbath is a necessity and it is 
best for man, as well as right, for man to observe 
it. If men are required to abstain from sinful 



58 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

amusements, it is because they are harmful to 
man and it is to his interest not to indulge in 
them. If men are required to perform arduous 
Christian duties it is because such duties are a 
necessity and are helpful to mankind as well as 
pleasing to God. In short, the church lays no 
unnecessary burden upon its members, neither 
does it require any unnecessary self-sacrifice. 
Everything demanded by the church is for good 
reasons, and not simply because the church has 
power or authority to make its own rules and 
regulations. 

Herein is one reason that membership in the 
church is helpful to happiness, because it not 
only throws around men safeguards against evil, 
but it also encourages and requires duties which 
are essential to happiness as well as the glory of 
God. 

Membership in some church is the duty of 
every Christian. In the great revival that begun 
on the day of Pentecost **the Lord added unto 
the church daily such as should be saved," and 
that has been God's plan in every age of church 
history. 

Followers of Christ have no excuse for re- 
maining outside the church, for her vows are 
always reasonable and her obligations are not 
burdensome. Church membership is necessary 
as an open confession of Christ and a separation 
from the sinful world. "Wherefore come out 
from among them, and be ye separate, saith the 
Lord" (2 Cor. 6. 17). Church membership en- 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 59 

courages and aids the spirit of devotion, gives 
counsel and instruction that is helpful, and opens 
an opportunity for usefulness to be found no- 
where else. 

Scripture teaches that Christ died for the 
church "that he might present it to himself a 
glorious church'' (Eph. 5. 27). It is indeed a 
glorious church — glorious in its divine origin, 
glorious in its noble aim, glorious in its happy 
experience, and glorious in its achievements. 

First of all, the church aims to make men 
happy on earth, and in this it has been a glorious 
success. It is the most helpful social influence 
on earth. Man is a social creature, and to be 
happy he must have worthy and agreeable asso- 
ciates. He finds them in the church as nowhere 
else in the world. Lodges, clubs, and social circles 
abound, but none of them equal the church in 
the promotion of friendship and social enjoy- 
ments. In the church people find tetter friends 
and more of them than anywhere else. 

The church is the only social agency for good 
on earth whose doors are open to everybody. 
Clubs are run in the interest of their little circle 
or favorite set. Lodges are for a limited few, 
and industrial organizations are for those in their 
line of avocation or pursuit in life, but the glori- 
ous church of God is for the help and happiness 
of all mankind. Go to the club and you are 
barred unless you belong to that set ; go to the 
lodge and you are rejected at their pleasure ; go 
to the industrial organizations and you are re- 



60 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

fused unless you belong to their class or avoca- 
tion of life ; but go to the church and you always 
find the door open. 

If the church of God did nothing but help 
men in this world and promote their earthly 
happiness, it would be the greatest institution 
on earth ; but its greatest work is that of giving 
spiritual help and preparation for the world to 
come. Herein the church differs from all other 
institutions. The best the lodge, club, etc., can 
do is to be helpful on earth up to the dying hour ; 
then they must stand helpless before the open 
grave, chanting the solemn dirge and throwing 
in the evergreen. The church of God provides 
for man's wants beyond the grave as well as in 
this life. 

Jesus died that men might have this mem- 
bership in his glorious church, not for the good 
you can do it, but for the helpfulness and happi- 
ness it can give you in this life and in prepara- 
tion for that which is to come. Will you gladly 
accept this divine provision for your welfare and 
be happy in life and throughout eternity, or will 
you refuse to accept it and be unhappy in life and 
to all eternity? 

CHRISTIAN BAPTISM 

Many people have a natural aversion to bap- 
tism and cannot see how it can be of any help to 
men. It is not surprising that such should be 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 61 

the case when we remember what bitter contro- 
versies have occurred over baptism and how 
often it has become an object of levity and jest. 
Baptism has no intrinsic merit by which to pro- 
mote human happiness. In one sense it reaches 
only the outer man, but it is a fulfillment of a 
divine requirement and thereby it becomes a sat- 
isfaction and means of happiness to those who 
receive it. It has no power to aflfect the spiritual 
man, and its only benefit is an outward sign of 
an inward work and an initiatory rite of the 
church of Christ. It is wholly a human work, 
although administered in the name of the Father 
and the Son and the Holy Ghost. 

Baptism is the duty of all Christians. Peter 
on the day of Pentecost said, "Repent and be 
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus 
Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall 
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2. 30). 
That day three thousand persons obeyed this 
command and were added unto the church. 
Jesus when on earth said, "Verily, verily, I say 
unto thee, except a man be born of water and of 
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
God" (John 3. 5). 

Cornelius and his house received their first 
baptism of the Holy Spirit as they listened to 
their first gospel sermon, and because of that 
baptism of the Spirit they were recognized as 
Christians, baptized with water, and added unto 
the church. The divine commission given to the 



62 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

early church was, "Go ye therefore, and teach 
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" 
(Matt. 28. 19). 

Baptism should never be received simply as 
a matter of duty, but rather as a privilege, for 
thereby we confess Christ before the world. No 
duty should be more cheerfully and joyfully done 
than the public confession of Christ in baptism. 
All should regard it as one of the most sacred 
and enjoyable ordinances of the church of God. 
Yet we should never expect salvation through 
baptism. We are baptized because we have be- 
come Christians, not to make ourselves Chris- 
tians. 

If you expect to get relief from the burden 
of sin by baptism you will be disappointed, for 
it can never take the place of pardon or conver- 
sion. We would refer all who believe that bap- 
tism saves from sin to the experience of Simon 
Magus, recorded in the eighth chapter of Acts. 
He was baptized by Phillip, one of the best men 
on earth, and he surely had the right mode of 
baptism. Yet, shortly after his baptism, Peter 
said to him: "Thou hast neither part nor lot in 
this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight 
of God. Repent of this, thy wickedness, and 
pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart 
may be forgiven thee, for I perceive that thou 
art in the gall and bitterness and in the bonds 
of iniquity" (Acts 8. 21-23). Here is a man who 
received baptism under the most favorable cir- 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 63 

cumstances and it did not save him from his sins, 
neither will it save you. It is a great mistake to 
substitute baptism for conversion. 

BAPTISM OF HOLY GHOST 

The happiest and most joyful day in the his- 
tory of the apostolic church w^as the day of Pente- 
cost, when three thousand souls were baptized 
with the Holy Spirit and united with the church. 
Such a scene of rejoicing the world had never 
seen before. Just so with all Christians; their 
happiest days are those in which they receive 
the baptism of the Holy Ghost. There is no ex- 
perience in Christian life that brings such glad- 
ness and rejoicing as the coming of the Holy 
Spirit into the heart. 

The baptism of the Spirit and baptism of the 
Holy Ghost are terms often used in Scripture to 
signify the gracious work of the Spirit in the 
heart at the beginning and throughout Christian 
life. Some say such baptism comes only once, 
some twice, and some three times ; we find no 
limit mentioned in the Scripture, but have the 
assurance that we may receive them as often as 
needed for cleansing and for power to do Chris- 
tian work. 

After the new birth Christians may and 
should receive other special baptisms of the Spirit 
for power for service. It was for this purpose 
the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles on the 
day of Pentecost. They were not sinners need- 
ing cleansing, as were the three thousand saved 



64 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

that day. We are aware that a few months previ- 
ous to Pentecost Christ prayed for these apostles, 
saying, "And for their sakes I sanctify myself 
that they might also be sanctified through the 
truth'' (John 17. 19). But this does not show 
that they were sinners needing cleansing, for the 
same word "sanctify" is applied to each, and here 
that Avord means consecration to God's cause 
and not cleansing from sin, a thing Christ never 
possessed. Besides, it must be remembered that 
if they were sinners when that prayer was of- 
fered, between that and Pentecost they received 
the Holy Ghost, when Christ appeared in their 
midst after his resurrection and, breathing on 
them, said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (John 
20. 22). After this descent of the Spirit before 
Christ's ascension, the apostles were not cer- 
tainly sinners needing another baptism on the 
day of Pentecost to fully save them, but they did 
need power for service, and Jesus promised, "But 
ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost 
is come upon you ; and ye shall be witnesses unto 
me in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, 
and unto the uttermost parts of the earth" (Acts 
1. 8). The apostles had a great work before 
them and they needed special power for service, 
and such may be the case with every Christian. 
Peter and John received another such bap- 
tism for power at the Jerusalem prayer meeting 
not many months later. They were being perse- 
cuted, and had been commanded by the San- 
hedrin not to speak any more in the name of 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 65 

Jesus. They went to the prayer meeting and 
prayed for boldness to preach Christ. "And 
when they had prayed, the place was shaken 
where they were assembled together and they 
were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they 
spake the word of God with boldness" (Acts 
5. 31). It seems this was their third baptism of 
the Spirit, and it is plain they did not receive it 
for cleansing from sin, but for power to do God's 
work. 

We have the assurance that we may receive 
as many such baptisms of the Spirit as we need, 
for the Master said, "If ye then, being evil, know 
how to give good gifts to your children, how 
much more shall your heavenly Father give the 
Holy Spirit to them that ask him" (Luke 11. 13). 

The baptism of the Holy Spirit not only adds 
greatly to the happiness of Christian life, but it 
is also an agency of great power in strengthening 
and advancing God's cause. As Peter and John 
went from that prayer meeting they possessed an 
energy and boldness which fitted them to face 
all enemies of the cause of Christ. Just so with 
Christians in all ages ; when under the influence 
of the Holy Spirit they are joyful and bold in the 
Master's work. We have many times seen timid 
people so possessed with the Spirit that they 
boldly faced great audiences and fearlessly 
pleaded with the people to seek salvation. 

No man can be a Christian without possess- 
ing the electrifying influence of the Holy Spirit. 
We find that confirmed by Peter's declaration. 



66 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

*'\Ve are his witnesses of these things ; and so, 
also, is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given 
to them that obey him." Yes, the electrifying 
power of the Spirit is given to every Christian, 
and without this power none could become Chris- 
tians. 

LORD'S SUPPER 

To the unsaved world the sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper seems a solemn and burdensome 
ceremony in which there is much gloom and sad- 
ness. How it can be a help is more than they 
can understand. True, there is much solemnity 
in the holy sacrament, but solemnity is not al- 
ways an indication of sadness or unhappiness. 
While the Christian should feel solemn in re- 
membrance of his dying Lord, he by no means 
feels unhappy. Rather does he feel joyful in re- 
membrance that Christ has paid his debt of sin 
and that through his atoning blood he may now 
be cleansed from all unrighteousness. 

It is said: "A father once kept a canceled 
bond for his family to look upon and see how he 
had paid a heavy debt through much self-sacri- 
fice to make them happy. Christ canceled the 
claim of justice against us, 'nailing it to his cross.' 
In the Lord's Supper his family look upon this 
bond/' 

To partake of the Lord's Supper is the privi- 
lege and duty of every Christian. Among the 
most precious words of our Lord are those he 
used when instituting this sacred ordinance, say- 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 67 

ing: "This is my body which is given for you; 
this do in remembrance of me. This cup is the 
new testament in my blood, which is shed for 
you" (Luke 22. 19, 20). 

There could be no greater mistake than to 
suppose that Christ then gave his literal body 
and blood in the sacrament, or that such is ever 
the case. As a wise one has well said, **The body 
of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the supper 
in a figurative sense, and only after a heavenly 
and spiritual manner through faith/' 

There are still a few people in the world who 
hold to the old doctrine of transubstantiation, or 
the belief that in the sacrament the bread and 
wine are changed into the literal body and blood 
of Christ. It seems incredible that there could 
be found such people in this enlightened age, but 
such is the case. 

To get the greatest possible good from par- 
taking of the Lord's Supper it is well to prepare 
for it by fasting and prayers, as did our fore- 
fathers. Also, it should be approached with a 
spirit of heart-searching self-examination and re- 
consecration to God. If we find faults and im- 
perfections in our past life, (and we usually do), 
look through the holy emblems to the atonement 
made for all such, and by faith get under the 
blood that cleanseth from all sin, then look out 
into the future with hope and confidence that, 
by the grace of God, we shall be better and do 
better in the future. 



68 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

Let no man suppose men are saved simply 
because they partake of the Lord's Supper. The 
sacrament is no saving ordinance. Instead of 
depending upon it for salvation, we take it in 
commemoration of Christ's atonement through 
which men are saved by faith, not of works. We 
do not take it to make us Christians, but because 
we are Christians and desire to honor Christ our 
Saviour. It has no intrinsic merit of itself and 
is beneficial only as a means of directing and 
strengthening our faith in Christ the only 
Saviour. 

If men will remain unsaved until their dying 
hour it is useless to call the preacher, priest, or 
pope to save them by administering the holy 
sacrament. If they are too far gone to look to 
the Lord Jesus for salvation themselves, the sac- 
rament can do them no good whatever. 

If friends of the dying would make the same 
effort to get them to look to Christ for salvation 
that they make to get the sacrament to them, 
very many more of them would be saved. 

That the sacrament of itself does not save 
sinners was demonstrated the very first time it 
was administered. Jesus gave the first sacra- 
ment to eleven saints and one sinner who wore 
the cloak of Christianity but was a devil at heart. 
Judas was a sinner before receiving the sacra- 
ment, and he was not less a sinner after he re- 
ceived that sacred ordinance. If the sacrament 
did not save him it will not of itself save any 
sinner. This being the case, people had better 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 69 

point their dying friends to Christ for salvation 
instead of sending for some one to save them 
by administering the sacrament to them. 

SECRET PRAYER 

That secret prayer is helpful to happiness 
may be doubted by some, but many Christians 
find it the joy of their lives to secretly commune 
with their heavenly Father. If people do not 
find secret prayer a help to happiness it is be- 
cause they are not sufficiently acquainted with 
God. When we are real intimate with people 
we always enjoy getting ofif to ourselves and 
having a good time where no one can know the 
secrets of our friendship. Why should this not 
be true of our friendship with our divine Friend, 
who has done more for us than any earthly 
friend ? 

In secret prayers we come face to face with 
our heavenly Father and in all confidence make 
known our wants and express our gratitude for 
blessings received. Certainly this confidential 
communication with one whom we love with all 
our hearts will be a great source of happiness to 
all Christians. 

To all who can see no happiness in secret 
prayer we would say in the language of the 
Scriptures, "Acquaint now thyself with him and 
be at peace ; thereby good shall come unto thee" 
(Job 22. 21). 

The Lord Jesus put special emphasis on the 
importance of secret prayer, and the Christian 



70 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

world has found by experience that it is of the 
greatest importance. Every Christian should 
have a time and place for secret prayer. *'When 
thou prayest enter into thy closet, and when thou 
hast shut thy door pray to thy Father which is 
in secret, and thy Father which seest in secret 
shall reward thee openly'' (Matt. 6. 6). David 
said, ''Evening and morning and at noon will I 
pray and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice'' 
(Psa. 55. 17). Daniel was faithful in secret 
prayer when he put his life in jeopardy to do so. 
When he found that to do so meant death, it is 
said "he went into his house, and with his win- 
dows open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he 
kneeled upon his knees three times a day and 
prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he 
did aforetime" (Dan. 6. 10). The results of this 
secret prayer are well known. 

DIVINE OBEDIENCE 

That obedience to the divine commands is a 
condition of salvation is evident from such Scrip- 
ture as this : *'And being made perfect he became 
the author of eternal salvation unto all them that 
obey him" (Heb. 5. 9). 

Most men like to be their own dictators and 
do as they please. They frequently object to 
being religious because it requires obedience to 
the divine commands. How the Christian can 
find happiness in obedience is more than they 
can understand. They prefer to seek happiness 
in freedom of action. 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 71 

It seems that they forget that Christian obedi- 
ence is obedience to God and not to man. If 
we were required to obey man it might tend to 
unhappiness, but when the obedience is a com- 
pliance with the divine law it is quite diflferent. 
God makes no demands but such as are for our 
good or that of our fellow men, and it is always 
to our best interests and happiness to obey him. 
By obedience to him we are shielded from thou- 
sands of evils and temptations which would get 
us into trouble and make us unhappy, and we 
thereby secure many blessings and helps to pres- 
ent and eternal happiness. 

Obedience to the divine command is one of 
the conditions of discipleship. God's claims on 
our obedience rest on the fact that we are his by 
creation, preservation, and redemption. 

God desires a voluntary and cheerful obedi- 
ence given through love for him and his cause, 
and not through fear of punishment. God's ideal 
servant would continue to serve him though 
heaven were blotted out and all hope of reward 
were vanished and hell were annihilated and all 
possibility of punishment were gone. He would 
continue to serve him through a spirit of grati- 
tude and because it is right that he serve him. 

God wants complete and perfect obedience; 
no half-hearted and spasmodic service. No ques- 
tioning of his authority, no hesitation in obeying 
his commands. He has a right to demand our 
very best possible service. 



72 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

DIVINE PROVIDENCE 

Providence means foresight, and divine provi- 
dence is God's foresight and watchfulness over 
men. Some admit there is a general providence 
over nations and multitudes of men, but deny 
that there is a special providence that has to do 
with individuals. If there is a general provi- 
dence there is also a special providence, for the 
latter is included in the former. God's provi- 
dence could not be extended to the masses with- 
out being extended to each individual composing 
the masses, no more than a nation would be given 
its freedom without the individuals composing 
the nation receiving their freedom. 

God's watch-care over each individual is one 
of the most comforting doctrines of the Bible, 
and that there is such a special providence is 
plainly taught in Scripture. Saint Paul says, 
*'For we know that all things worketh together 
for good with those that love God" (Rom. 8. 28). 
The Lord Jesus certainly taught that there was 
a special providence when he said : "But the very 
hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye 
not therefore" (Matt. 10. 30, 31). Also when he 
said: *'But there shall not a hair of your head 
perish. In your patience possess ye your souls" 
(Luke 21. 18, 19). 

Even the calamities, afflictions, and bereave- 
ments that come to us in the ordinary course of 
events are often used as a providence for our 
betterment. Not that God's providence sends 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 73 

these things upon us, but when they come 
through the ordinary courses he turns them into 
blessings that advance us in spiritual life and 
establish us more firmly in the Christian hope. 

The Christian does not look for miracles in 
the work of Providence, but he believes that God 
often turns the common transactions and circum- 
stances of life to our good. And it is often in the 
little things of life that divine Providence seems 
most apparent. 

What could be more helpful to human happi- 
ness than implicit confidence in an overruling 
Providence? What could so fill us with gladness 
and contentment as the consciousness that we 
are not alone in the afflictions, trials, and temp- 
tations of life, but the omnipotent God is with us 
and overruling all things for our good ! O, that 
all men would but put their hands in the divine 
hand and follow the leadings of Providence! 

GOOD WORKS 

'*Let your light so shine before men that they 
may see your good works and glorify your Fa- 
ther which is in heaven" (Matt. 5. 16). "In all 
things shewing thyself a pattern of good works" 
(Titus 2. 7). 

All men by nature have an aversion to Chris- 
tian work and can see no happiness in it ; when 
they become Christians they have quite different 
tastes, desires, and aspirations. Then Christian 
work becomes their great delight and a source of 
constant happiness. 



74 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

When professors of religion have no relish for 
the work of their Master there is reason to be- 
lieve that there is something wrong with their 
religious life. If they have been truly converted 
and are living consecrated Christian lives they 
certainly will be interested in advancing the 
cause of Christ and gladly lend a helping hand. 

While good works are a great help to happi- 
ness in this life and that which is to come, let 
no man suppose that good works save people 
from sin, or make them children of God. Men 
are not saved by good works, but they do good 
works because they are saved. Good works are 
the fruit of Christianity and can no more make 
men Christians than the apple can make the tree 
on which it grows. 

Martin Luther says, **You had as well try to 
cross the ocean on a butter dish as to ride to 
heaven on good works." Ciphers before a unit 
add nothing to its value, but after the unit they 
multiply its value many times ; so good works 
before we are Christians are worthless to make 
us Christians, but after conversion they are of 
great value in Christian life as a means of keep- 
ing saved and helping rescue a lost world. No 
man should cease to do good works, but all 
should cease to depend upon them for salvation. 
Saint Paul says, "By the grace of God ye are 
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, 
but it is a gift of God ; not of works lest any 
man should boast" (Eph. 2. 8, 9). 

If we do good works because it is right we 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 75 

should, and because we are interested in advanc- 
ing the kingdom of Christ, we will find them a 
great help to happiness ; but if we do them hoping 
to merit salvation and find them a passport to 
glory, we are going to be sadly disappointed. 

CHRISTIAN TESTIMONY 

We are well aware that with some people 
Christian testimony is a most dreadful duty. It 
is the one thing they think they can never under- 
take. They cannot see how any person can get 
any happiness in giving testimony concerning 
religion. All this is a very great mistake. One 
of the Christian's greatest helps to happiness is 
that of testifying publicly to the goodness of 
God in his salvation. True, it is generally a 
cross in the beginning, and it takes no little grace 
and moral courage to confess Christ before men 
in the beginning of Christian life; but this em- 
barrassment soon passes away, and the child of 
God finds happiness and joy in witnessing for 
the Master. 

The importance of Christian testimony is evi- 
dent from the frequent mention of this subject in 
Scripture. Among these we have this impressive 
statement: "Ye are my witnesses, saith the 
Lord'' (Isa. 43. 12). Yes, all Christians should 
be God's witnesses, and to be a Christian witness 
two things are necessary: first, they must have 
an experience; second, they must tell that ex- 
perience. The courts will have no use for a wit- 
ness who knows nothing, nor one who knows 



76 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

and will not tell what he knows. Neither will 
God accept as a witness those who know nothing 
about religion, or those who know but will not 
tell what they know. 

Many times, when every other means fail, 
Christian testimony succeeds in bringing men to 
Christ. When Jesus entered the country of the 
Gadarenes it seemed that he saved but one man. 
That was the hardest case in the land, and his 
conversion convinced the people that Christ had 
the power to save; but they all rejected him and 
prayed him to depart from their coasts. Christ's 
mission to that people seemed a failure, but he 
left one convert there, saying to him, when he 
desired to follow him across the sea : ''Go home 
to thy friends and tell them how great things 
the Lord hath done for thee and hath had com- 
passion on thee. And he departed and began to 
publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had 
done for him; and all men did marvel" (Mark 
5.19,20). 

When Jesus and his disciples returned later 
they found that the Christian testimony of this 
convert had so changed public sentiment that 
the way was then open to Christ, and a great 
revival followed. Where Christ himself had 
seemed to fail, the way had been opened for a 
great work by the bold and fearless testimony 
of one man, thus demonstrating the importance 
of Christian testimony to the conversion and 
happiness of sinful communities. 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 77 

SOUL WINNING 

We are well aware that many people think they 
could never become soul winners, and they think 
such an undertaking could never promote happi- 
ness, but would ever be an unpleasant undertak- 
ing. All such will think quite differently when 
they are converted and united with the church. 
The first impulse and the greatest desire of the 
new convert is to win others for Christ. Their 
hearts go out after their relatives and friends as 
never before, and their greatest desire is to see 
them saved. Many times we have seen the con- 
vert rise from the altar at which they were con- 
verted and go back into the audience and with 
tears and entreaties try to win their friends for 
Christ. In such a work they often seem to have 
more than human gifts of utterance and per- 
suasion, which often brings others at once to the 
altar of prayer as seekers of salvation. 

There is no work on earth more important 
than that of winning souls. It is the will of God 
that every Christian should have a part in this 
great work. Every Christian has some lines of 
influence by which he may induce others to come 
to Christ which no other person possesses. 
While all may do something as soul winners, 
there are special qualifications for this work that 
are highly desirable. "He that winneth souls is 
wise*' (Prov. 11. 30). Wisdom, deep personal 
piety, and constant communion with God are im- 
portant factors in soul winning. If we hope to 



78 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

lead others into the blessed experience of salva- 
tion, our lives must be such as to convince them 
that there is such an experience and that they 
need it. In soul winning we need to exercise the 
greatest discretion. We must be "wise as ser- 
pents, and harmless as doves," praying for divine 
guidance in every effort. 

One great reason why personal effort is neces- 
sary is because of the fact that so many people 
give the gospel message to others instead of tak- 
ing it to themselves. What they should take to 
heart they pass on to others. The gospel mes- 
sage must be taken to people personally; then 
they cannot give it to others, but must take the 
truths presented to themselves and thereby they 
will be brought to Christ. 

Have you ever noticed the fact that the Chris- 
tian church was first organized by personal effort 
instead of a big revival. As the sun was setting 
behind the western hills two men passed the 
camping grounds of John the Baptist, and 
Brother John exclaimed, "Behold the Lamb of 
God !" That was a good text for the first gospel 
sermon and it won two souls for Christ. Brother 
Andrew and John joined the Christian church 
that day. That was the first day in the history 
of the Christian church, and these were the only 
accessions. 

The next day Brother Andrew went to work 
for Christ, just as all good converts were wont 
to do. He found his brother Peter and said to 
him, "We have found the Messiah, which is, 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 79 

being interpreted, the Christ, and he brought him 
to Jesus." This -was the only accession of the 
second day of the history of the Christian church. 
The next day Christ found Philip and took him 
into the church. He was the only accession on 
the third day of the church's history. On the 
fourth day there was one accession through the 
instrumentality of Brother Philip. This con- 
vert. Brother Nathanael, was a great skeptic, and 
was won only by the most skillful planning of 
Brother Philip. Instead of going into a long 
argument, as many are wont to do, Philip simply 
said, *'Come and see." To see was to be con- 
vinced, and Nathanael's prejudice was overcome 
and he was won to Christ. 

During these first four days of the Christian 
church five souls joined as charter members. 
All of them were brought into the church by 
personal effort. One was by the personal effort 
of Christ, the other four through the personal 
eflforts of the disciples. From that day to this 
the divine and human agencies have cooperated 
in the work of salvation, and very much in the 
same proportion. Is it not true to-day that at 
least four souls out of five are brought to God 
through human instrumentality? If all Chris- 
tians would follow the example of these charter 
members and go out after their friends, this world 
would soon be brought to Christ. 



80 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

GROWTH IN GRACE 

Growth in grace is a development of grace 
received in conversion. We do not grow into 
grace, but we grow in grace. Christians are 
never made by growth, but by birth. An acorn 
becomes the mighty oak by growth, but all the 
elements of that oak tree are wrapped up in the 
little acorn in the beginning. The roots, the 
fiber of the living tree, the bark, and the leaves 
are all in the acorn in miniature, and growth 
simply develops them into the full-grown tree. 
Just so with the Christian. He is all there in the 
beginning, every element that he will ever have, 
but in their infancy; growth in grace simply de- 
velops those elements of Christian character until 
he becomes a man in Christ Jesus. 

It is not expected that men shall grow sin 
out of their hearts. God takes sin out when we 
first believe and put on the "new man." This is 
shown by the Scripture statement : *'Now having 
been made free from sin and become saints of 
God, ye have your fruits unto holiness, and the 
end eternal life'' (Rom. 6. 22). This teaches that 
when men first become saints they are freed from 
sin and have fruits unto holiness and eternal life. 

It is shown by John's declaration: "If we 
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive 
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unright- 
eousness" (1 John 1. 9). This shows that when 
men are pardoned they are also cleansed from 
all sin. 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 81 

It is seen in the fact that Jesus says, "He 
that hearest my words and believeth on him that 
sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come 
into condemnation, but is passed from death unto 
life" (John 5. 24). This teaches that when men 
first believe they are free from condemnation 
and all occasion to come under condemnation, 
and have eternal life. 

Growth in grace is expected of all Christians ; 
without it none can be perfect Christians. 

Our growth in grace is necessary that we 
may be able to do our Christian work. We can- 
not send babes into the harvest field to do men's 
work ; neither can God send babes in Christ into 
his vineyard to do the work of full-grown men 
and women. 

Our growth in grace is necessary to prevent 
our premature spiritual death. In nature, when 
growth ceases, death and decay begin. Is that 
not true also in the spiritual realm? We may 
for a little while produce a few blossoms of 
promise and retain some leaves of Christian pro- 
fession, but it soon becomes apparent that heart 
degeneracy has begun and that spiritual decay 
and death are to follow. 

You take pictures of your children every year 
so you can see how they grow. Suppose God 
should show you a picture of yourself each year 
since you were converted. Would it show that 
you had grown in grace as steadfastly as your 
children have grown in body? Would you be 
satisfied with that growth? 



82 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

Before closing this article we must give the 
views of Mr. Ryle, who says: "There is a gen- 
eration of Christians in this age who grieve me 
to the heart. They make my blood run cold. I 
cannot understand them. For anything that 
man's eye can see, they make no progress. They 
never seem to get on. Years roll on and they 
are just the same — the same besetting sins, the 
same infirmities of disposition, the same weak- 
ness in trial, the same chilliness of heart, the 
same apathy, the same faint resemblance to 
Christ — but no new knowledge, no increased in- 
terest in the kingdom, no freshness, no new 
strength, no new fruits, as if they grew. Are 
they not forgetting that growth is a proof of 
life?" 

CHRISTIAN PERFECTION 

Many saints and sinners are ready to stam- 
pede at the mention of holiness or perfection. 
They have such an aversion to these terms that 
they have no patience to listen to anything on 
this subject. This is no marvel, for the contro- 
versy and strife that has arisen in these modern 
times on this subject is most disgusting and un- 
called for. There is no real cause for strife and 
contention over this matter if properly under- 
stood. 

Neither saints nor sinners can object to holi- 
ness or perfection if they fully understand the 
teachings of the Scripture on this subject. God 
and the church make no such dreadful require- 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 83 

ments as some people imagine they do. When 
fully understood, it is found that holiness or per- 
fection are not the impossible attainments that 
many people think them to be. 

With many people the requirement of "per- 
fection" seems most difficult and they boldly de- 
clare that it is impossible. All this comes from 
a misunderstanding of what God and the church 
require. The impossible is never expected of any 
man. 

We are commanded to be perfect as our Fa- 
ther which is in heaven is perfect. This seems 
impossible, and we feel discouraged and are ready 
to turn away in despair. We should remember 
that perfection is a very elastic word, not always 
meaning the same thing. To be a perfect babe 
in Christ is less than to be a perfect man in Jesus 
Christ; to be a perfect man is less than to be a 
perfect angel, and to be a perfect angel is less 
than to be a perfect God. All may be perfect in 
their several capacities, yet there is a vast differ- 
ence in their degree of perfection. We are not 
expected to be perfect as God, but perfect in our 
human capacity as God is perfect in his divine 
capacity. 

Even with men perfection does not always 
mean exactly the same, for men's capacities dif- 
fer, and even the same individual has greater 
possibilities at one period of life than at others. 
To every man Christian perfection is a living up 
to his capacities and opportunities, both as to 
experience and Christian service, fulfilling the 



84 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

command, **Thou shalt love thy God with all thy 
heart'' (Deut. 10. 12). Our capacities should be 
constantly on the increase, and unless we meas- 
ure up to our increasing opportunities and re- 
sources we become imperfect Christians. Failure 
in duty is often followed by imperfect and un- 
satisfactory religious experience, hence the ne- 
cessity of looking well to duty as well as making 
sure that we have attained all the experience 
possible. 

Even a new convert is perfect; he has a per- 
fect consecration, pardon, and cleansing, but he 
is perfect as a babe in Christ; he has every ele- 
ment of Christian life he will ever possess, such as 
faith, love, peace, etc., but they are all in embryo 
and await development. Later in life he will 
have greater faith, love, etc. ; otherwise he be- 
comes imperfect. A babe that never grows any 
may become a man ^"n years, but such would by 
no means be a perfect man, and it is just so with 
Christians. Paul speaks of such when he said, 
"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers 
ye have need that one teach you again which be 
the first principles of the oracle of God and are 
become such as have need of milk and not strong 
meat'' (Heb. 5. 12). To continue perfect Chris- 
tians we should abstain from all the poisons of 
sin, feed on the bread of life, exercise in Christian 
service, and breathe the spirit of devotion. If we 
do so we will "all come in the unity of the faith, 
and in the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 85 

perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of 
the fullness of Chrisf' (Eph. 4. 13). 

It is a great mistake to suppose that Christian 
perfection is some marvelous attainment in re- 
ligious experience beyond which there is no pos- 
sibility of making further progress. Much is said 
in Scripture about going on, but no authority is 
given to stop this side of heaven. The Chris- 
tian life is an eternal life, and may not our prog- 
ress in that life also be eternal? Some want to 
stop at conversion, some at the second blessing, 
and some at the third, but why not go on through 
this life and to all eternity? Peter and John 
received three baptisms of the Holy Spirit during 
the first year of their ministry, but they did not 
think they had all there was for them and stop. 
Saint Paul went on to perfection nearly thirty 
years and classed himself with the perfect (Phil. 
3. 15), yet he continued to press on to still 
greater heights of perfection, saying, "Not as 
though I had already attained, either were al- 
ready perfect, but I follow after. ... I count 
not myself to have apprehended; but this one 
thing I do, forgetting those things that are be- 
hind and reaching forth unto those things that 
are before, I press on toward the mark of the 
high calling of God in Christ Jesus'* (Phil. 3. 
12-14). It makes no difference what may have 
been our experience, we are never too high to 
heed the exhortation of Paul. "Therefore leav- 
ing the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us 
go on to perfection" (Heb. 6. 1). 



86 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

CHRISTIAN UNITY 

That Christian unity is helpful is best known 
by those who have tried it. Unfortunately, some 
people are too selfish and narrow to test it. 
There are still some professors who are like the 
old deacon who prayed, "Lord bless me and my 
wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no 
more." Some opponents of Christian unity have 
gotten a little nearer to it, so they pray, "God 
bless me and my family, my church and my 
preacher," but they are not concerned in any- 
body else. To the shame of Christianity, some 
professors antagonize and hinder all churches 
but their own at every opportunity they have. 

It never pays anybody to be narrow and self- 
ish in their church life. The narrow sectarian 
spirit is always harmful, and the spirit of Chris- 
tian unity brings prosperity and happiness to 
church circles. 

Of course church people cannot all see alike 
as to many of the minor questions, but they can 
be one in aim and purpose, which is the essential 
thing. Men do not agree on business, politics, 
art, science, etc., and why should it be expected 
that they see the same on all things pertaining 
to salvation? 

Christian unity does not mean that all shall 
belong to one great church, or teach exactly the 
same doctrines, but that all Christians shall be 
one in purpose and aim, and that they shall be 
courteous and helpful to each other. 

The Psalmist says, "Behold how good and 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 87 

how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together 
in unity" (Psa. 133. 1). Some things are good 
and not pleasant, and some are pleasant and not 
good, but Christian unity is both good and 
pleasant. 

CHRISTIAN BENEVOLENCE 

"Contributions to the cause of religion is the 
bounden duty of all Christians. Yet God re- 
quires no unreasonable sacrifice for the promo- 
tion of his cause and leaves the whole matter to 
the judgment and piety of his children. He 
places no binding obligation on any man that is 
impossible or burdensome to meet. "God loveth 
a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9. 7), and no other kind 
are pleasing to him. 

No better rule for Christian benevolence has 
ever been found than the one instituted by Saint 
Paul, who said, "On the first day of the week let 
every one of you lay by him in store as God has 
prospered him" (1 Cor. 16. 2). 

We would not magnify the duty of benevo- 
lence above other Christian duties, but it is well 
to give it due consideration. Wesley says : "Get 
all you can without hurting your soul, your body, 
or your neighbor. Save all you can, cutting off 
every needless expense. Give all you can. Be 
glad to give, and ready to distribute." 

Christ says, "Give, and it shall be given unto 
you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken 
together, and running over, shall men give into 
your bosom" (Luke 6. 38). 



88 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

CHRISTIANITY AND TEMPERANCE 

Drunkenness is an evil strictly forbidden of 
God and should be earnestly opposed by all fol- 
lowers of Christ. This is one of the greatest and 
most prevalent of all sins, and Christianity 
should stand firm and determined against it. 
Saint Paul classes it with murder and other sins 
which shut men out of heaven and banish them 
to eternal darkness. ^'Envyings, murders, drunk- 
enness, revelling, and such like; of which I tell 
you before, as I have told you in the past, that 
they which do such things shall not inherit the 
kingdom of God'' (Gal. 5. 21). Here is another 
long list that Scripture says are excluded from 
heaven, and in it we find drunkenness. "Nor 
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revel- 
lers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom 
of God" (2 Cor. 6. 10). 

Whiskey and religion will not mix any more 
than will oil and water. If men will drink it they 
cannot be Christians, and they should not pro- 
fess to be followers of the immaculate Son of 
God. Intemperance is the greatest enemy the 
church has, and this world can never be saved 
half drunk and half sober. We must first get 
whiskey out of men ; then, and then only, can we 
get religion into them. *'Wine is a mocker, 
strong drink is raging, and whosoever is de- 
ceived thereby is not wise'' (Prov. 20. 1). 

A leading church has well said: "We ear- 
nestly protest against the members of our church 
giving countenance to the liquor traffic by voting 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 89 

to grant license, or signing the petitions of those 
who desire license, to sell either distilled or fer- 
mented or vinous liquors, or by becoming bonds- 
men for persons asking such license, or by rent- 
ing property to be used as a place in or on which 
to manufacture or sell such intoxicating liquors/' 

SABBATH OBSERVANCE 

No duty is plainer taught in Scripture than 
that of Sabbath observance. The Sabbath is the 
oldest institution in the world, having been pro- 
claimed the first week in the world's history. 
''And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified 
it, because in it he had rested from all his work'' 
(Gen. 2. 3). This one monument of God's cre- 
ative power has stood unshaken through all the 
ages of the world's history. Moses found it in 
the world and observed by God's people two 
thousand and five hundred years after its insti- 
tution, and said, "Remember the Sabbath day to 
keep it holy" (Exod. 20. 8). When Christ ap- 
peared on earth he found this monumental Sab- 
bath, then more than four thousand years old, 
still unshaken by the ravages of the ages, and he 
declared, "The Sabbath was made for man, not 
man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2. 27). The world 
is beginning to realize the truthfulness of this 
statement, and is finding that God did not com- 
mand observance of the Sabbath to please him- 
self or assert his authority, but because it is a 
human necessity. The Sabbath is a physical 
necessity. Man and beast can do more work and 



90 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

do better work by resting one day in seven ; be- 
sides, such rest is a physical necessity for the 
preservation of man and beast. 

The Sabbath is a social necessity. God cre- 
ated us social beings, and we need to cultivate 
that social nature on the Sabbath, otherwise we 
would grow selfish and become alienated from 
each other. No institution in the world has such 
social influences as the church, and her chief 
means of promoting sociability and friendship is 
found in the Sabbath day services. Take away 
these Sabbath opportunities for promotion of 
friendship and sociability, and greed and selfish- 
ness would soon alienate the members of society 
and much happiness would be destroyed. 

The Sabbath is a moral necessity. Man has 
a moral nature which needs attention and would 
suffer without a Sabbath. Its benefit to the 
church and religious life can never be told. 
Without a Sabbath mankind would doubtless 
retrograde, until in the course of time civilization 
would have departed from the face of the earth. 

If the time comes that the Sabbath ceases to 
be observed, then look out for the speedy de- 
parture of the church with all of its helps to 
happiness. He who persistently refuses to ob- 
serve the Sabbath need not look for happiness in 
this life, or that which is to come. 

PERSEVERANCE OF SAINTS 

Every Christian may, and should, persevere 
unto the end in Christian life, yet there is a great 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 91 

danger that by neglect or willful transgression 
we fall from grace. The Scripture says, *Tf ye 
do these things ye shall never fair' (2 Pet. 1. 10). 
But the great danger is in our failing to do these 
things required of us, and in that case we fall. 
''Therefore let him that thinketh he standeth 
take heed lest he fair' (1 Cor. 10. 12). Not tak- 
ing heed, as here commanded, is one great reason 
why so many fall. They think because they are 
members of the church and have had a good 
religious experience they are safe, and not taking 
heed of their danger, they fall. 

The prophet Ezekiel says, *'When a righteous 
man turneth away from his righteousness and 
committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his 
iniquity that he had done he shall die" (Ezek. 
18. 26). 

God has made abundant provision for the final 
perseverance of the saints. His love, his wisdom, 
and his power have provided every safeguard 
possible, and they are all-sufficient, but man is a 
free moral agent and has some say in this matter, 
and if he yield to temptation and sin unto death, 
all God's love, wisdom, and power is of no avail. 
God loved Solomon and made him rich, prosper- 
ous, and wise, and despite all this Solomon fell 
and became an idolater. Christ loved Judas, 
"Having loved his own, which were in the world, 
he loved them unto the end." Notwithstanding 
that wonderful love, Judas fell, and it would have 
been better for him had be never been born, all 
because Judas loved money more than he did 



92 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

the Master. It is well for Christians never to 
forget this command of the Scripture: "Where- 
fore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed 
lest he fall/' 

We need have no fear whatsoever so long as 
we are willing to do our part faithfully. There 
is no power on earth or in hell that can over- 
come us or cause us to fall from grace so long 
as we put our trust in God and do our Christian 
duty. There is no power that can separate the 
saint from his Lord except himself, and if they 
are separated and the saint goes back to sin, it is 
his own fault and not the lack of the grace of 
God. Jesus said, "No man is able to pluck them 
out of my Father's hand" (John 10. 29). If they 
get out, they go out, and that is the very thing 
Judas did a little later. He fell not of necessity, 
but of choice, and so it is with all backsliders. 

IMMORTALITY OF SOULS 

There is happiness in the assurance of man's 
immortality. To us the most gloomy and sad- 
dening thing in the world is the belief that death 
ends all. There comes a time when we must put 
our nearest relatives and dearest friends beneath 
the sod, and if we believe that the grave is the 
end of all existence there comes a shadow of 
gloom over our souls that nothing on earth can 
remove. If. such is the end of man, what better 
is he than the brute creation? 

How strange it is that there are so many men 
in the world who persist in trying to believe that 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 93 

they are no more than brutes that lie down and 
die and at once pass into oblivion ! Such a belief 
comes from the fact that men feel that they are 
unprepared for a better world beyond the grave, 
and for that reason they try to believe that there 
is no life beyond the grave. 

How different with the Christian who feels 
that by the grace of God he is prepared for a 
higher and happier life; therefore he finds great 
consolation and happiness in the Bible doctrine 
of the immortality of the soul. 

Some one has said: "Is the immortality of 
the soul not the greatest fact ever announced to 
the world? And are we not indebted to divine 
revelation for this knowledge? Compared with 
this truth, what are all the discoveries of science 
in all the ages? How greatly does this revela- 
tion brighten the pathway of men and inspire 
hope for the future! What a debt of gratitude 
do we owe to Jesus Christ, Vho hath brought 
life and immortality to light through the gospel' 
(2 Tim. 1, 10). One sentence from the lips of the 
divine Teacher threw more light upon this sub- 
ject than all the science and philosophy of all 
ages. Let all praise be given to Christ for this 
greatest of revelations." 

"The annunciation of life and immortality in 
the gospel, did it contain no other truth, were 
sufificient to cast all the discoveries of science 
into the shade and to reduce the highest improve- 
ments of reason to the comparative nothingness 
which the flight of a moment bears to eternity. 



94 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

By this discovery the prospects of human nature 
are infinitely widened, the creature of yesterday 
becomes the child of eternity; and as felicity is 
not the less valuable in the eye of reason because 
it is remote, nor the misery which is certain less 
to be deprecated because it is not immediately 
felt, the care of our future interest becomes our 
chief and, properly speaking, our only concern." 
Bulwer says : *T cannot believe that earth is 
man's abiding place. It can't be that our life is 
cast up by the ocean of eternity to float a mo- 
ment upon its waves and then sink into nothing- 
ness, else why is it that the glorious aspirations 
which leap like angels from the temple of our 
heart are forever wandering about unsatisfied? 
Why is it that the rainbow and the clouds come 
over with a beauty that is not of earth and then 
pass off and leave us to muse upon their favored 
loveliness? Why is it that the stars, who hold 
their festival around the midnight throne, are 
set above the grasp of our limited faculties, for- 
ever mocking us with their unapproachable 
glory? And, finally, why is it that bright forms 
of human beauty are presented to our view and 
then taken from us, leaving a thousand streams 
of our affection to flow back in Alpine torrents 
upon our hearts ? We are born for a higher des- 
tiny than that of earth ; there is a realm where 
the rainbow never fades, where the stars will be 
spread before us like islands that slumber on the 
ocean, and where the beings that pass before us 
like shadows will stay in our presence forever." 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 95 

RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD 

Resurrection means rising again, and the res- 
urrection of the dead is the rising again into life 
of the bodies that fall in death. This is one of the 
most precious and important doctrines of divine 
revelation, and upon it does the whole system 
of Christianity rest. Saint Paul says, "But if 
there be no resurrection of the dead, then is 
Christ not risen, and if Christ be not risen, then 
is our preaching vain and your faith also is vain" 
(1 Cor. 5. 14, 15). The Lord Jesus said, "Marvel 
not at this, for the hour is coming in w^hich all 
that are in their graves shall hear his voice and 
shall come forth" (John 5. 28, 29). 

The doctrine of resurrection is wholly a mat- 
ter of revelation; while there is much in nature 
that is somewhat similar and tends to confirm 
this doctrine, we could never learn it wholly 
from nature. 

Some are inclined to doubt this doctrine be- 
cause of the mystery connected with it and the 
seeming difficulties in its accomplishment. We 
are not required to understand how it is done; 
that is not important. 

The resurrection is not the withdrawing of 
the spiritual man out of the physical, as some 
teach. That is what occurs at death, and has to 
do with the living instead of the dead. There- 
fore it cannot by any means be a rising again of 
the dead. 

The resurrection is not the development of 
a new body from some germ left alive in the 



96 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

body at death. The Scripture tells us of no such 
living germ surviving at the dissolution of the 
body, and if there v^ere such a germ, the devel- 
opment of a body from it would not be a resur- 
rection at all, but a grov^th. Such would not be 
a rising again of the body that fell in death, but 
the development of a new body. 

The resurrection is not the creation of a new 
body from new material. That would be a cre- 
ation and in no sense a rising again of the body. 

The resurrection must of necessity be the ris- 
ing again of the body that fell in death, otherwise 
it is no resurrection. Some say men have dif- 
ferent bodies every few years, therefore the res- 
urrection is impossible. That is no objection, 
for the resurrection has to do with the body that 
dies only. Some say the bodies are so scattered 
that a resurrection is not possible. Though scat- 
tered, no part is destroyed or annihilated, for 
God alone can destroy it, and this omnipotent 
God could gather it from the four winds of the 
earth if it should become necessary. 

While the resurrection is to bring forth the 
same body that falls in death, it will have certain 
changes necessary to the future state of exist- 
ence. It is a mistake to suppose that such 
changes will destroy the identity of the body. 
My old friend lost fifty pounds when absent, yet 
he did not lose his identity, for I still recognized 
him as the same old friend. 

The bodies of the saints will be resurrected 
spiritual, immortal, and glorious bodies, yet they 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 97 

will be recognized as the bodies that fell in 
death, as was the resurrected body of Christ, 
which is the pledge and pattern of our own. 
Scripture says: *'So is the resurrection of the 
dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in 
incorruption ; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised 
in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in 
power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a 
spiritual body" (1 Cor. 15. 41-44). 

Of course the resurrection of the body is a 
miraculous work which is attended with seeming 
difficulties, but what seems impossible to men is 
possible with God. The resurrection of Christ 
demonstrated the possibility of the resurrection 
and should forever settle that question. 

SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST 

"For the Lord himself shall descend from 
heaven with a shout with the voice of the arch- 
angel, and with the trump of God" (1 Thess. 
4. 16). 

"The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is a 
coming in bodily presence such as he ascended 
up into heaven, and is to take place in the re- 
generation or consummation of all things at the 
end of the world, when time shall be no longer, 
when the dead are raised, when the judgment is 
set, and when eternal retribution begins." — 
Raymond. 

The manner of Christ's second coming will 
be in marked contrast with his first. He came in 
a manger, he comes in the celestial chariot ; he 

7 



98 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

came in humiliation, he comes in royal splendor ; 
he came to be despised and rejected of men, he 
comes to be honored by all mankind and the 
celestial hosts. 

The purpose of Christ's second coming is to 
judge the world. "When the Son of man shall 
come in his glory, and all the holy angels with 
him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his 
glory; and before him shall be gathered all na- 
tions, and he shall separate them one from an- 
other as the shepherd divideth his sheep from 
the goats. . . . And these shall go away into 
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into 
life eternal" (Matt. 25. 31, Z2). 

The time of Christ's second coming is wisely 
hidden from man, and all efforts to foretell the 
time of his coming is the greatest folly. Christ 
says, "Of that day and hour knoweth no man, 
no not the angels of heaven, but my Father 
only" (Matt. 24. 36). The fact of Christ's second 
coming is important and is revealed, but the time 
of his coming is not important and is not re- 
vealed. If revealed it would prove a great mis- 
fortune to men, for it would unfit them for the 
duties of life, as is evident by the experience of 
some who have thought they knew the time of 
his appearing. 

There are two things the Scripture settles 
beyond all doubt: First, that Christ will come, 
and second, the day is already fixed in the divine 
mind. Paul says, "He hath appointed a day in 
which he will judge the world in righteousness 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 99 

by that man whom he hath ordained/' But God 
has wisely hidden from man the time of the de- 
struction of the world, and it is the silliest non- 
sense for any divine to pretend to know when it 
will occur. 

The greatest day in all the ages and all time 
will be the last day, when Christ comes the 
second time to escort the saints of God to their 
eternal home. That triumphant entry of Christ 
and his people, attended by the angels of heaven, 
into the celestial city will be the greatest occa- 
sion of all history. 

DEATH THE DOOR TO FUTURE DESTINY 

That souls go to their future abode at death 
is proved by the following Scripture: "To-day 
shalt thou be with me in paradise'^ (Luke 23. 
24). "And it came to pass that the beggar died 
and was carried by the angels into Abraham's 
bosom; the rich man also died and was buried, 
and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in tor- 
ment" (Luke 16. 22, 23). "For I am in a strait 
betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be 
with Christ, which is far better" (Phil. 1. 23). 

Raymond has well said: "To be with Christ 
is certainly to be in a state of conscious blessed- 
ness. If we think of it as a place, it is to be where 
Christ is, in the Father's house, where there are 
many mansions. I take it, that is heaven. The 
saints, then, enter immediately into heaven." 

The plain Scripture teaching is that the souls 
of the righteous go at once to heaven, and those 



100 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

of the wicked to hell. Christ said to the penitent 
thief on the cross, "To-day shalt thou be with me 
in Paradise'' (Luke 23. 24). We know that 
Christ went to his Father in heaven that day, 
and if this penitent soul was with him there, such 
will be the case with all saints. The rich man 
and the beggar went to their eternal destinies 
at death. "And it came to pass that the beggar 
died and was carried by the angels into Abra- 
ham's bosom ; the rich man also died and in hell 
he lifted up his eyes, being in torment" (Luke 
6. 22, 23). 

Saint Paul speaks of death as being absent 
from the body and present with Christ, and he 
desired to depart from the body that he might 
immediately be with his Lord, not that he might 
see him more than nineteen hundred years later 
when he met him in judgment. These are his 
words: "We are confident, I say, and willing 
rather to be absent from the body and present 
with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5. 8). "For I am in a 
strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and 
to be with Christ, which is far better" (Phil. 
L 23). Scripture says of Christ's second coming 
in judgment, "Behold the Lord cometh with ten 
thousand of his saints" (Jude 1. 4). If saints so 
come with Christ and angels from heaven, they 
must have gone there at death. 

Bishop Clark has well said: "It is generally 
admitted that the full consummation of bliss is 
not realized until the resurrection. It is when 
the soul is clothed upon with its glorious resur- 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 101 

rection body that it enters upon the full develop- 
ment of its powers and the full consummation of 
its bliss! But why is it necessary to suppose 
that prior to that event it must be put into a 
separate individual place, some gradations in ad- 
vance of earth toward heaven, yet beneath heaven 
itself? Why may it not be transplanted at once, 
not as a fully developed, but as an embryo being, 
to expand and mature until its final in vesture 
with an incorruptible body shall gloriously in- 
stall it among the thrones of heaven? Such in- 
deed seems to be the clear light of revelation 
upon the subject. The righteous dead are repre- 
sented as being with Christ." 

How comforting and soul-cheering are these 
teachings of Scripture giving us assurance that 
at death there awaits us no purgatory, no soul- 
sleeping, no state half hell and half heaven, but 
a joyful admission into heaven, where we may 
meet our Lord and our loved ones who have gone 
on before. To know that we shall immediately 
be with Christ sweetens the agony of the dying 
hour and we can cheerfully say, "Lord Jesus, 
receive my spirit," as did the first martyr in his 
dying moments (Acts 7. 59). 

GENERAL JUDGMENT 

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, 
but after this the judgment" (Heb. 9. 27). "For 
we must all appear before the judgment seat of 
Christ; that every one may receive the things 
done in his body, according to that he hath done, 



102 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor. 5. 10). "But 
I say unto you, that every idle word that men 
shall speak they shall give account thereof in the 
day of judgment" (Matt. 12. 36). 

If the very general supposition is true, that 
nothing is ever entirely forgotten but will finally 
be restored to memory, is it not probable that 
our book of judgment will be our own memories 
made perfect by being released from this imper- 
fect physical organization? How easy it would 
be for God to thus keep a record by which to 
judge men that none could dispute! 

It has been asked, "Why the need of a day 
of judgment if the soul goes to its destiny at 
death?" What God tells us is true. We have 
no right to question it, though we could not see 
the reason for it. But we know that it is neces- 
sary, if for no other reason, to exhibit before all 
the world the goodness and justice of God. 
None can doubt that man's destiny is unalterable 
at death, yet God's purpose is to give every man 
a fair trial in open court before all the world, 
that he may demonstrate his goodness and jus- 
tice in rewarding and punishing men, and that 
none may murmur at their punishment or com- 
plain of the rewards of others. 

FUTURE PUNISHMENT 

There is as much evidence of future punish- 
ment in the Bible as there is evidence of future 
rewards, as much evidence that there is a hell as 
that there is a heaven. "And these shall go away 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 103 

into everlasting punishment'* (Matt. 25. 46). 
**And shall cast them into the furnace of fire; 
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" 
(Matt. 13. 50). "The wicked shall be turned into 
hell, and all the nations that forget God'' (Psa. 
9. 17). 

*Tt is objected 'eternal punishment is too long 
as a penalty for the sins of a short life' ; none but 
God can judge here." *Tt is not the length of 
time which wicked men spend in committing 
their sins, nor the nature of the persons who 
have sinned, that determines the measure of pun- 
ishment, but the dignity of that infinitely glori- 
ous Being against whom sin is committed that 
gives such a high aggravation as to require pun- 
ishment without end. How many instances are 
there among men wherein offenders against their 
neighbors, or against a magistrate, who spend 
but a few moments in the crime, yet are doomed 
to imprisonment for months and years? And a 
lower degree of trespass against a king, which 
is short of high treason, is sometimes punished 
with confiscation of goods and with close con- 
finement for life. And by the same reason the 
sins of men being committed against a God of 
infinite majesty require an endless punishment." 

"But some are of the opinion that this pun- 
ishment shall come, to an end ; that is as likely 
as that the glory of the righteous shall have an 
end, for the' same word is used to express the 
duration of punishment that is used to express 
the state of glory." — A. Clarke. 



104 DOCTRINE AND DUTY 

FUTURE REWARD 

No Bible doctrine is more consoling than that 
of future reward of the children of God, and none 
has a better foundation in the promises of God. 
The Master gave us many precious promises, 
but none that are more comforting and helpful 
than his promise, "I go to prepare a place for 
you" (John 14. 2). 

No man can be perfectly happy here so long 
as there are dark forebodings and great fear as 
to his future welfare. If he knows not the hour 
that he may be called hence, and realizes that he 
is unprepared to meet his God, how can he be 
happy here? But when he is saved from sin and 
has the Christian's hope of heaven abiding in 
him he can be happy and joyful even under the 
most adverse circumstances and greatest afflic- 
tions, for he knows they cannot last long, and 
when ended he is sure of entering into joys ever- 
lasting, where adversity and suffering cannot 
come. 

Doubtless the most joyful announcement ever 
made to any of God's creatures in any age is 
that of his preparation of a heavenly home for 
all his people. Scripture says, *'Eye hath not 
seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the 
heart of man, the things which God hath pre- 
pared for them that love him" (1 Cor. 2. 9). It 
tells us that to God's people there is "an inher- 
itance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth 
not away, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Pet. 
1. 4). 



DOCTRINE AND DUTY 105 

Heaven is not simply a state or condition, but 
a locality, a place. Character and conditions 
have much to do in making heaven heavenly, but 
they are not all of heaven. Jesus said, "I go to 
prepare a place for you" — not a character! not 
a state ! not a condition ! but a place, a location, 
mansions. 

Saints w^ill be happy in heaven because of 
their heavenly character, their heavenly associa- 
tions, their heavenly employments, their heav- 
enly rew^ards, and also because of the attractions 
of that heavenly place. Christ, our advance 
agent, has gone before to build and furnish the 
heavenly mansions, and he w^ill make them 
glorious, splendid, ideal, all that heart could v^ish, 
the only perfect residence we ever have. "A joy 
forever." Yes, heaven is a place! a glorious 
place! When the scenes of this earth are fast 
passing from our view and the celestial scenes 
are appearing we shall begin to realize the full 
meaning of the Master's promise, "I go to pre- 
pare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a 
place for you, I will come again and receive you 
unto myself, that where I am ye may be also" 
(John 14. 2, 3). 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: April 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



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